Soaring Above
by NoshMono
Summary: Two years had passed since Second War ended and UNITY had been formed to unite the whole of Earthsphere. However, things aren't what they seem, as one Shinn Asuka found out when he became entangled in a conspiracy to start new world war. ShiXCag, KirXFla
1. Prologue

Thomas Spencer wondered whether someone set out to play a rather cruel trick on him as his mobile suit, Strike Freedom arrived at the designated vector. That was the only way to explain why he, a former pilot of a battery-powered Strike LANCE was given the control of such a powerful mobile suit. Despite both bearing 'Strike' in their names, saying that they're similar is like insisting apple and orange belong to the same plant genus.

He ran a full scan of the area. There was nothing but space dust. Muttering a soft curse, he wondered about the original pilot's whereabouts. Despite his rather shy demeanor, Kira Yamato stuck out like a sore thumb among the Second War veterans; preferring to maim or disable his opponents' mobile suits rather than annihilating them. In fact, he had heard along the grapevine that the newly formed United Nations Integration Treaty government or simply known as UNITY, wanted to elect him as a senator. Such a move was of course politically motivated to bolster support for the fledging coalition. Heck, they'll probably have the students study about him in one or two chapters in schools in few years time.

However, Kira had surprised them by declining the post. He had simply vacated the post of ORB military commander, to the chagrin of his sister, the representative of ORB. Some had claimed he had left to join ZAFT but Tom couldn't see the real logic behind that. Since PLANTs, ORB and the majority of world countries formed and joined UNITY, Kira Yamato would end up serving the same government. Of course, the man was yet to be seen to disprove Tom, so the man probably didn't join ZAFT as well. In fact, he probably decided to retire.

If that was the case, in Tom's opinion, Kira Yamato was wasting his talents away.

Take piloting Strike Freedom for example. While the Super DRAGOON's control system had been fine tuned so that even a Natural with a normal awareness of space would be able use it, it would require someone of Yamato's caliber in order to bring its best.

He would have continued on with his musing when an alarm suddenly became live; an unknown was approaching him and introduced itself via a beam shot clearly aimed at Strike Freedom. Thomas blocked the attack and narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't right. He was ordered to patrol the area because Intel suggested that a small band of pirates armed with antiquated GINNs would lie in wait for a convoy that was supposed to pass there the day after tomorrow. But instead of that, he was attacked with… Tom racked to find a suitable description… a slender looking DOM Trooper with Voiture Luminaire system. Slender or not, there was no mistaking the myriad of weapons it was carrying.

He hit the radio. "This is Strike Freedom, I…," he stopped as he realized that he was talking to a static noise. Somehow or another he was cut off from his mothership.

The 'thin' DOM continued with its attacks.

"Fuck…," Thomas cursed. "You're really trying hard to ruin my day, aren't you?" he asked despite knowing that no answer would be forthcoming.

Both Strike Freedom and its adversary traded attacks, gauging each other's reaction until finally, Tom had gotten into a very favorable position. "Eat this," he said, grinning as Strike Freedom's Super DRAGOONs launched.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see that his enemy was also grinning.

It was already too late when Tom realized that rather than blasting his enemy to smithereens, the Super DRAGOONs turned toward Strike Freedom and destroyed it.

Inside the thin DOM, a man was laughing at what happened when a woman's face appeared on the screen, causing him to snap to attention.

"Did you get Yamato?" the woman asked.

"Judging from the battle data that we have, it's not him."

"Zala, or is it Asuka? I know for certain that Fllaga had retired."

"I'm not sure. Since the ARES system didn't kick in, probably a normal Coordinator or Natural." The pilot noted that he could see the dissatisfaction on the woman's face even though it was being displayed on a very small screen.

"Very well. Regardless of the disappointment, we have at least achieved Strike Freedom's destruction." She stopped for a while. "Are you able to use the DRAGOON Scrambler?"

"Yes, despite a slight lag time when activated, I've managed to take control of Strike Freedom's Super DRAGOONs."

"They're still intact?"

"All eight of them."

"Good. Bring them to me. We need to hasten our next plan."

"Understood."

The woman signed off.

The pilot let the Super DRAGOONs attached themselves at ports prepared specifically for them. The field test was successful and the poor bugger never knew what hit him. He felt a tinge of excitement as he remembered the next stage of the plan.

He would finally get the chance to avenge his sister's death at the hand of that murderous Shinn Asuka two years prior.

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (19 July 2008)**

1. Logically and chronologically, this story is subject to the respective copyrights holders exercising their rights.

2.I'm just putting the status as complete as I don't know whether I'll continue on with it or not.

3.In case you wonder about the pairing, see the category above.

4.Following my previous fic Fallen Angel, this story's acrostic will also reflect the main character of the story. That said, it doesn't mean that other characters wouldn't play important parts; the focus will be more to him.


	2. Repentant death god

The concrete slab was just that: a physical object made from a mixture of cement, granite and other various materials. It wasn't a house that could provide a shelter as well as protect its inhabitants. In fact, it wasn't built to have any useful purpose except one: it served as a reminder to its visitors. And to one of them, it was the reason why he was there. If asked, he would have admitted that he really hated that place but yet, he wouldn't hesitate to admit that he went there whenever he had a chance.

"Damn," the visitor, a young man with jet black hair muttered as he rubbed his moist eyes, not really caring that there would be anyone to see the tears; he was alone at the monument.

The young man no longer carried a pink-colored mobile phone by his side like he did in the second war, something that struck people who didn't know him as odd. But he didn't care about their opinion as the phone was a good luck talisman of sorts to him apart from reminding him about what had happened to his family in the first war. He no longer carried the phone because he threw it into somewhere in ORB's water a year ago as a pledge to protect the country. It was rather ironic, really, since in the first war, he had lost his family due to Nuzumi's rather cowardly reaction to Alliance only to return to attack ORB in the second war as part of the ZAFT's punitive fleet.

It was fortunate that ZAFT had lost due to Yamato-led intervention; otherwise he would never have learned that what he did was a big mistake and he would never had a chance to at least make some amends.

When he thought about it, the attack by ZAFT on ORB was probably the trigger to the widespread changes that engulfed Earthsphere. Among the crumbling Alliance, a new Confederation of Independent Countries had emerged, consisting of countries from both Atlantic and Eurasian Federation. Within a very short span, the Confederation had spread its influence to other countries in Northern region while at the same time cutting off support for Blue Cosmos and its master LOGOS.

At the same time, ZAFT's or rather Gilbert's efforts to get Earth population to accept his proposed Destiny Plan was being hampered by ORB's covert and subversive actions to create suspicions about it. The unexpected reappearance of Lacus to discredit Gilbert was the nail in the coffin for the plan.

As a result of those events, both LOGOS and ZAFT had been weakened to the extent that the world was finally ready for a very much needed change for the better. Gilbert had proposed for a world summit where all leaders would meet to discuss peace treaty, including Djibril himself. However, Djibril seized that opportunity to launch a surprise attack that killed the ZAFT Chairman and at the same time destroyed Aprilius One.

Forced to take the reign of a chaotic ZAFT, Lacus Clyne had managed to bring order to PLANTs and together with ORB and Confederation space fleet, had launched a direct attack to destroy Requiem as well as the moon base where the LOGOS sympathizers were hiding. Piloting Destiny, he was in charge of protecting the main ZAFT fleet from counterattack while it bombarded the base. At the same time, his former mentor Athrun Zala and that man whom he dislike greatly moved in to destroy the Requiem's generators.

It would have counted as a great victory for the combined force if not for the fact that they were ambushed by a super fortress commandeered by those loyal to Gilbert's vision. He had surmised that the same ship had killed Rey Za Burrel earlier when the blonde went to investigate a strange occurrence. However, he would never find out the truth about the mastermind behind the attack.

And there he was, back in the country.

"Have a lot of things on your mind?" a female voice startled him from his thoughts.

He turned toward the person. The woman reminded him of the Hawkes sisters, except that that she was a brunette. Talking about the two sisters, he wondered about what happened to them. He had received an invitation to Lunamaria's wedding a year before but due to the rather hectic nature of his work, he couldn't come. As for Meyrin, he had heard somewhere that she opened a little restaurant in her home. "Yeah, I guess."

"This is the first time I came here."

"You're not from here?" He asked. She had to be a foreigner as the woman would have visited the place often if she was a local.

"I'm from Confederation."

"I see." There's a chance that she came from the former Atlantic Federation and thus be more sympathetic to Atlantic's action in the first war.

"It's a beautiful structure."

He whipped his head in her direction. "What do you mean by beautiful?"

"This and the whole park. The designers and builders probably spent a lot of time planning for their construction."

"How could you say a park that served as a memorial to the wars as beautiful? When people come here, they come to mourn."

"So you're here to mourn?"

"YES!" he said, unconsciously raising his voice. "They build it as a place to mourn."

"You're wrong," she said in a small voice but full of conviction.

"Huh?"

"It's just a place for you to remember_ them, _no matter whether the memories that you have of them are happy or sad. It's you who makes the choice whether to recall which memory."

He widened his eyes as he had never thought in that way.

The woman continued. "Call me ignorant or naïve, but I always try to remember happy times with my family when they were still alive, rather than the situations that led to their deaths."

"What happened to them?" he asked curiously.

"What happened to yours?" the woman asked while looking forward and thus missed seeing him tensing up his body.

They continued with their respective thoughts in silence after that.

However, days later, when he was inside an open cockpit, checking their status, he could help but think about her statement. Was it wrong what he did, remembering only sad memories of his family and Stellar? Should he change his ways then?

"Boy, check the ECS."

He did as commanded and flicked a switch that performed a diagnostic for that function, ignoring the numerous wires linking the consoles to the outside. "I have a name, you know," he grumbled.

"Look, it's just me but I couldn't really feel comfortable calling you Shinn. You know, the guys would have problem when someone says 'he socked my shin', because then they don't know whether he's referring to you or his face. If the latter, it's okay, but if they think that the man is referring to you…"

Shinn groaned; he remembered some misunderstanding occurred when Athrun helped to clear his eye when they were stationed at Minerva but to have the same kind of problem in ORB; it's unbelievable. He didn't carry the pink phone anymore, for god's sake. "Kojiro-san," he said, referring him using proper Japanese suffix as the man was a half-Japanese, "you can just call me Asuka."

"Or I can call you 'boy'. Good, I'm getting a reading. Now, tell me can you see reserve power indicator? Is it functioning?"

"Yes."

"Next, we'll…," Kojiro Murdoch stopped.

"We'll what?" Shinn asked.

"Get out of the cockpit now!" the man said gruffly.

Following the terse command, the former ZAFT pilot got down and went to the other man only to see him together with the rest of the staff. "So…"

"So we wait here to welcome the arrival 'Ojou-chan'," Kojiro answered.

"Little Missy?" Understanding dawned on the young man when he saw a blonde in a fuchsia colored suit walking toward them. "Oh…" He didn't expect that Attha would visit the site personally; wasn't she was supposed to busy somewhere else? Either way, he can safely say that his day was ruined.

"At ease," the representative ordered before everyone could salute her. "I'm just here to see the progress of the prototype." Truth be told, Cagalli didn't really want to be at the base since she still had a lot of documents waiting for her back at her office. However, Kisaka had insisted that she visited the Morgenroete base to boost the moral of the testing team. Reluctantly, she had to agree. A lot of things were riding on Morgenroete's success in achieving the first place in the Rimane Project.

Rimane Next Generation Mobile Suit Project: a contest to select the next generation mass-produced mobile suit for the newly-formed UNITY military. In order to be successful, a prototype must fulfill certain conditions such as able to function on space and earth, can be maintain as well as upgraded easily _and _cheaply as well operable by both Coordinators and Naturals. There was also another important clause: it must be battery powered as the previous wars had shown that nuclear mobile suits can be dangerous in the hands of terrorists.

Besides Morgenroete, there were another three contenders. One of them was the Integrated Design Bureau, the mobile suit research arm of PLANTs while the other was Alliance of Nascent Defense Engineering Sector, or in short, ANDES, formed by the remnants of Adukav Mechano-Industries, Propulsion & Machinery Progress and Acteon Industries after the Confederation had purged all LOGOS influence from them. Being key players in the defense industries, it wasn't hard to get some background information on them. However, one smaller entrant piqued her interest: Shauzer Technology Incorporated.

While a relatively new player in the defense sector, the lead designer, Terrence Shauzer had contributed to various ZAFT mobile suit designs, including ZGMF-X09 Justice and ZGMF-X10 Freedom. He was also the one who built the iconic ZGMF-X16X Fallen also referred to Phoenix by veterans who had survived the final battle because its third-stage propulsion resembled a gigantic pair of wings.

When she thought about it, all four contenders were very strong and stood a similar chance of securing the contract.

If she wasn't already worried about that, Cagalli also had to contend with her _younger _brother's disappearance. Rather than wait until he's sixty years old with a lot of medals on his uniform, the young general had applied for an early discharge, citing the need for time and space to solve his personal issues. At first, she thought that he wanted to be with Lacus akin to what Athrun did for her after the first war but to her surprise, Lacus had contacted her asking about his wellbeing. Apparently, the young heiress was a bit distressed with him not contacting her.

Cagalli tried to contact him herself and found out that his number wasn't in service anymore.

If the first war had caused Kira to mentally age prematurely, the second war caused him to become, she wasn't sure whether it was correct, a man. An annoyingly childish man for that matter, seeing that he decided to disappear to god knows where.

That led her to the man whose guarded face she regarded with one of her own. Shinn Asuka. The poster boy that represented what some people called as 'Emo'. Sure, that 'bad boy' attitude did seem a bit attractive to someone like her who didn't exactly fit in the normal mold herself but one could only stand so much of that behavior. At least, when they met again after the war, with Erica introducing him to her as the test pilot for their prototype mobile suit, the two of them managed to reach some kind of an agreement.

He thought that her father, Nuzumi Attha was the biggest jackass in the world; she thought that he was the biggest asshole in the world.

Unfortunately, they were very professional in regards to their work and they grudgingly worked together. As flawed as his personality was, Cagalli couldn't deny the fact that he, together with Athrun, had managed to defeat Kira. Of course, Kira had been defeated in Berlin by someone else but that was beside the point altogether.

There weren't many veteran ORB pilots left after the war and whatever few that it had, were being assigned other important tasks. Athrun, being the stick-in-the-mud that he was, turned down her offer to join Morgenroete, citing that it wouldn't be fair to the Integrated Design Bureau whose offer he had rejected earlier on. However Cagalli knew the real reason; he had accepted another offer to become an overseer of sorts to the competition. Hence, she approved Shinn's appointment reluctantly.

"Is there something on my face?" Shinn's sudden question interrupted her train of thought.

She didn't mean to stare at him. Cagalli sighed. Why was she at the base again? "Don't worry, nothing that an ape doesn't have," she remarked.

There was a twinge of annoyance on him before he schooled his feature. "Gee, I never would've thought that you use yourself as a benchmark for the comparison. I'm certainly honored, _Lady Attha_"

Cagalli narrowed her eyes dangerously, mentally shifting through ways to inflict pain on him. Unfortunately, doing so will certainly affect his piloting ability; he could even claim that her pulling his hair disrupted his cognitive process though Cagalli wondered how much processing really went on behind that ever angry scowl.

She wished that she was back in her office, being swamped by the paperwork rather than be there near him.

* * *

Mirriallia squeezed the rubber blower, watching intently as the tiny dust specks that had ruined her earlier shots got blown off from the sensor of her camera. Then, she meticulously brushed the sensor with a cleaning brush, applying very small pressure to prevent accidentally scratching it. Then, with a tenderness normally reserved to a mother who was handling her newborn, she assembled the whole camera once more; snapping a picture of the pond in front of her after that.

The picture was a perfect one.

But the camera's clean state didn't last when a gush of wind blew dust around the camera and its owner. Startled, Mir instinctively looked up to see an unknown mobile suit was being chased by three Murasames. She recognized the Murasames's marking denoting that they are part of UNITY's military or the Peacekeepers. She widened her eyes when she realized that whatever the mobile suit was, it wasn't a friendly. Despite that, she quickly aimed her camera at it and pressed the capture buttons as much as she could before the mobile suit left the place. The professional photographer didn't have to be worried as it reduced its speed to swipe something against the leading Murasame's left wing and kicked the second one to the remaining Murasame, causing the two to crash together.

Mir could only watch as the lone mobile suit brought out its gun and carefully aimed at the lead Murasame. Fortunately six more mobile suits arrived at the scene, all of them were UNITY's Daggers equipped with some striker packs she had seen Morgenroete developed right after the war. Seemingly realizing that it was outnumbered and outgunned, the hostile mobile suit quickly left, all the while firing beam shots to deter pursuers.

As it disappeared over the horizon, Mir couldn't believe her luck being at a right time and a right place to be able to see such a dogfight. She was certain that UNITY would disavow the event.

When she reached her lodging five hours later, she was in such a good mood that she didn't notice her room being slowly filled with a gas and instead attributed her sleepiness with the long trek home. Even without changing her clothes, she landed on the bed and succumbed to the sleep. From the shadows, four people emerged and went through her belongings. One of them brought out a small laptop and connected it to her camera to view the pictures she had taken for the day.

Once Mirriallia woke up five hours later, she would quickly examine her camera and was relieved when the contents were intact. She would ignore the rather bizarre situation that had occurred and instead attributing it to something that she had eaten or jetlag. She wouldn't even notice that the pictures had been changed, especially those that featured the unknown mobile suit. In time, her memory would change and if asked to describe the mobile suit, she would detail out the characteristics of the one in the pictures, rather than the real one she saw. Such was the fallibility of human memory; even memory that one perceived as 'the truth' could be something manipulated by other people.

* * *

"Gobi," Erica Simpsons's face stated the word simply.

"Huh?" Shinn asked back.

"The next simulation battle will be held in the Gobi desert to gauge the combat readiness of the prototypes in the extreme. Today you'll be fighting against Vanguard."

"The big guy with two even bigger big guns…" Shinn mused. "To tell you honestly, STI's prototype wouldn't be a serious contender to the whole competition."

Erica nodded. "I didn't tell Lady Attha about this because I'm worried why a fire support mobile suit was even selected for this competition. Ah, that reminds me, the beam weapons have been adjusted so that they're safe but we can't do the same with the beam saber."

"Let me guess, that's why you loaded Skyknight with two toy swords weighing 1320 kilos?"

"The combat will be limited to ground base only, so not to worry. Besides, this is to test Skyknight's capability to take off with full load."

"Right, there's no need to even test that."

"FOCAL, Shinn."

"Shit."

Fllaga's Original Cool and Awesome Liftoff. There was no need to guess who invented the name of the technique that was first used in the Second War.

"Just because Skyknight…"

"The capability will be one of our advantages."

Shinn rolled his eyes. "Don't blame me if I crash Skyknight."

"That kind of joke is not really needed, Asuka." Erica looked around. "It was fortunate that Lady Attha had just left to receive a call. I can't imagine her reaction if she heard that."

"Heh, just like I care for her opinion."

"Look, if you feel that you can't do it, I'll contact Fllaga to do the test."

"Okay, okay, don't get uptight. I'll do it."

"I really mean what I said."

"I'll do it," he insisted.

"The prototype is very expensive to make and I can't have it destroyed."

"I really feel appreciated by that comment." He watched as the door to the hangar opened slowly. "The length of FOCAL?"

"Forty meters and you're cleared for launch any time now."

"Roger." Shinn increased the throttle and his mobile suit began moving; its speed increasing and increasing with every step until at the state that it was running along the runaway. When it had moved thirty meters from its original position, its achieved sufficient speed and executed a jump. While in the middle of its jump, Skyknight reconfigured into a mobile armour and immediately opened full thrust. The mobile armour lost some height before it managed to achieve enough power to fly away.

The technique reduced one of the most glaring problems faced by mobile suits when launching on Earth; they were very vulnerable in the first ten seconds after they had launched as they would be confined to a straight vector. Of course, in most cases, they launched from a relatively safe distance from any hostile but the attack on Armoury One and numerous conflicts had shown the enemy wouldn't be so cavalier to wait.

FOCAL circumvent that by getting a mobile suit to run to gain sufficient speed and hence momentum before jumping and applying full thrust. Since it can easily change the direction of the stride if needed, it would more difficult for its enemy to aim at it as opposed to a mobile armour trying to get off from a normal runaway or a mobile suit taking off from a static position. Fllaga had also shown that it was possible for a mobile suit to increase its running speed by applying additional thrust. Of course, beginners, be it Naturals and Coordinators would have problem executing the basic maneuver so only veterans were authorized to practice the more advance version.

Inside the cockpit, the young test pilot let out a relieved breath as he managed to execute the technique safely. He thought about the man who invented the crazy move. Mwu La Fllaga, or known as Neo, the infamous Phantom Pain's colonel. When he had found out, Shinn had tried to give the man a 'wrongitive' surgery to his face. Of course, Athrun had to be there to pin him to the floor while the other man explain everything.

Fllaga's explanation and the underlying guilty tone behind it caused Shinn to stop struggling against Athrun's hold.

Even though the other man had promised Shinn that he would take Stellar away from the warfare, he couldn't do so, not without letting the girl die. Upon demand, Mwu revealed that Stellar had been dosed with Gamma Gleptin, a performance-enhancing drug. While the drug had been enhanced to a certain degree where the people taking it wouldn't be severely affected unlike the first batch in the first war, it was still addictive and required gradual withdrawal; going cold turkey wouldn't cut it.

When Shinn screamed asking why the other man didn't try to wean her off the drug, he replied that he did. In order to get the drug, he had to get her to the Extended facility. Of course, doing so would cause Djibril to be informed of her escape from ZAFT and would lead the LOGOS leader to demand that she be put to a good use. That meant she was required to participate in combat.

Fllaga had chosen her, out of all people, to pilot Destroy because of few reasons. Firstly, Destroy was perceived to be the safest place she could be on the battlefield. Second, unlike any other Extended pilot who would have quickly plough through the cities like an eager child trying to destroy the anthill, Stellar would only retaliate against anything that attack her mobile suit; most of the time she would just move Destroy through the buildings. Fllaga figured that it would allow some of the inhabitants to get away. That plan failed when ZAFT had garrisoned a lot of troops in the cities;

Stellar blasted them away faster than any other Extended could have.

Shinn neither need to be told the rest of the story nor be reminded about what happened next. Stellar was killed by Kira. Looking back at Fllaga's actions, he could understand Fllaga's reason for doing what he did; the man, after all tried to save Stellar despite going about the wrong way to do it.

"You almost reached the simulation area," Erica announced, causing him to refocus his attention.

"Speaking of the devil…," Shinn said as his reflex took over and led him to perform a role to escape beam shots aimed at him. Even as Skyknight turned and turned, he caught hold of the attacker. Vanguard was waiting for him. A towering 23 meters high mobile suit, each hand holding a cannon-size blaster with four beam barrels could be seen protruding from it; each one firing alternately. The result of that was that Shinn was constantly being attacked and didn't have any time to regroup. At the very least the other mobile suit could function as portable CIWS unit.

"They haven't say start yet, dammnit!" Shinn cursed as Skyknight dove toward the attacker. At the same time, the heavy training swords disengaged from their pylons and began their descent. Without the cumbersome dead weights, the mobile armou was more maneuverable and allowed it to twist and turn while firing its own beam weapons.

The bigger mobile suit didn't even move from its, blocking the shots before resuming its own firing.

"Dumb ape," Shinn cursed as Skyknight, just few meters from the ground, reconfigure into mobile suit, plucked the two training swords from the air and slashed at the offender which also dropped one of its blasters to bring out its own sword. However, the maneuver performed by Shinn allowed him to increase Skyknight's momentum and try to overpower Vanguard.

However, the other mobile suit seemed to realize that as well and rather than meeting the slash head on, it parried and redirected the force of the attack to the ground next to it. That led Skyknight to stumble and Vanguard intend to capitalize on that by trying to kick it but the more agile mobile suit had back-flipped out of the way.

"I wouldn't have imagined such a heavy mobile suit pulling a stunt like that," Shinn muttered in reluctant awe. He then resumed his attack, feigning a stab only to jump over at the very last minute and aimed a kick at Vanguard's head. It didn't succeed as the latter turned and raised its shield to block the attack that would have knocked it down on the floor. Vanguard then fired the remaining blaster but Skyknight had already moved out of the way.

Their exchange lasted several minutes with neither gaining an upper hand over the other and it was almost ten minutes later a siren chimed in Skyknight's cockpit. The mobile suit's heat was already pass the normal limit and was slowly inching toward the dangerous level. Retreating out of Vanguard's range to get a better reading, Shinn was surprised to see that his mobile suit had lost a bit of its nimbleness.

Examining the situation, Shinn had discovered a small flaw in Skyknight; desert engagement wasn't really factored in the mobile suit design. That was to be expected since Morgenroete was based in Atlantic Ocean and there the main worry was to prevent rust due to the damp condition rather than solving problem of sands obstructing cooling vents and getting in the joints.

Sure, Strike had some missions in the desert few times, as can be seen from Archangel's archive and Shinn also had few of his own. However, those missions took place at calmer time, not the current windy situation he was in.

At the same time, he couldn't see that the adverse environment had affected Vanguard's performance and the mobile suit was still as dangerous as it was in the beginning. That meant the longer the battle progressed, the more disadvantaged it would be for Skyknight. Some way or another, he had to end the battle as fast as he could.

Skyknight reconfigured into mobile armour and zoomed toward Vanguard, keeping its NOE or nap of earth as close as possible. Besides using the terrain to prevent easy targeting, it also caused a lot of sands to be thrown into air, obscuring it from Vanguard's view. As expected, the latter counterattacked using its beam blaster. It wasn't really hard for Shinn to evade the beams though. Once his mobile suit got close enough, it reconfigured into mobile suit and slid on the ground in front of Vanguard, while at the same bringing out its beam rifle.

Shinn smiled as he saw that Vanguard was slow to aim down its beam blaster. As Skyknight stopped just two meters away from the mobile suit, its beam rifle aimed at what was presumed to be the mobile suit's cockpit, he couldn't prevent a smile from creasing his lips. "Looks like it's my win, today," he announced over the communication net. "Your mobile suit is very powerful. However, that power comes with a severe disadvantage: its reaction is quite slow."

"I believe it's a tie, Asuka," an unexpected voice answered him.

It was then Shinn noticed the real reason why Vanguard had used one blaster. Aimed at its own cockpit was the other blaster. Vanguard's pilot had predicted his move well and purposely left it open in order to goad Shinn to attack.

Shinn sighed as he let himself relax as the battle was already over and like the other pilot said, it was an unfortunate tie.

"So, can you suggest what I'm going to tell your tomboyish sister about meeting you here, Yamato?"

* * *

1

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**Author's note (25th July 2008)**

1. It seemed that I continued with a chapter. Oh well, we'll see how it goes. The future chapters, if there any, will be as self contained as this one.

2. Um, for those who haven't realized it, this story takes place in an AU setting. (in fact, most fanfictions can be considered as AUs). Of course, for those who had read Fallen Angel, you will notice that this story is linked with it. Yes, it's a dual mode story, with I aiming to make this story readable by its entirety while at the same time but can be considered as a bridging story for the events in the last chapter of Fallen Angel. I also would like to confirm that there will be no sequel after the final event in Fallen Angel (unless someone else would like to help write)


	3. Pandora's Box

"You're sure you don't throw up the match?" Erica asked with a tint of teasing in her voice as she stood by the window of her office, peering through the venetian blinds at the sun setting down.

"Of course not! Do you really think I would like to lose to him on purpose?" Shinn asked back, raising his voice slightly, wondering why the person in front of him could entertain such a blasphemous thought.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe to curry some favor from Lady Attha?"

Shinn snorted. "Hah, like I'll fall for her. I don't have any problem with individual preference but I'm sick of being questioned about my own sexuality and going for her will perpetuate that problem. Not to mention that personality problem she has."

The head of Morgenroete crinkled her eyebrows when she saw the door being opened from her. Then a small smile appeared on her lips. "I believe you, but I don't think other people are convinced. I'm willing to bet that you don't have any partner for tonight's dinner?"

"Well, Michael and I…"

Erica giggled. "See? Rather than 'Nina and I' or 'Natusya and I', you mentioned 'Michael and I'. It's not other people's fault if they misunderstood."

"All right! All right! I get your message! I'll find a girl to go with."

Without even turning away from the window, Erica pointed back over her shoulder. "Why don't you start by asking the lovely girl behind you?"

"A girl behind me?" Shinn said as he turned back. "There's no girl…" he stopped as he drank the view in front of him. There was indeed a girl, a rather attractive blonde with puffy golden hair that accentuated her feature. He wasn't an expert on fashion, but he had to say that the blue dress she was wearing enhanced her appearance even more. But most of the all, the newcomer reminded him of his dead lover. "Stella…"

"Well, not the word I was thinking to describe your dressing, Lady Attha, but I have to admit his description is even better," Erica said as she turned around. "You do look, as he said just now, 'stellar' in that dress."

"I'm only wearing this because you forced me."

"At… Attha?" Shinn stuttered, not believing what he was hearing. "That man-girl is this?" he said while pointing to Cagalli. Upon receiving a glare, he took a step backward.

"You'll escort her to the dinner tonight," Erica announced while clasping her hand. "A princess and her dashing escort, what a perfect match."

"Me?" Shinn asked incredulously. "You're kidding me!" He turned and muttered, "A perfect mismatch is more likely."

Erica looked at the schedule on her desk. "Albert and Rajoo's shift are supposed to be over in ten minutes, so if you go ask…"

"Okay! Okay! Enough already!" Shinn said exasperatedly. "I'll go out with her! Stop with the innuendo already! All I need is some proof, right?"

There was a cough. "Did anyone forget that I'm here?"

"Of course not, Lady Attha," Erica said coolly. "After all, the two of us were discussing about you after all."

"Have you discussed about me not going with him tonight even if he's the last male on Earth?" While Cagalli's words were meant to give an impression of calmness, her face ruined that projection. "I'd rather go out with my fellow apes."

Shinn had to look away, but his body still betrayed him, trembling from unshed laughter.

"I'm sure that you do, Lady Attha," Erica said, purposely not pointing out what the other female had implied. "While there are other eligible men that would be ecstatic to be your escort, and despite the rather caveman-like etiquette Shinn here has, he has one thing going for him that I'm sure that once you find out, you'll even force him to come with you."

Cagalli raised her eyebrows. "Whatever you say to me wouldn't change my mind, Erica. I wouldn't be coerced."

"I'm hurt that you're having such opinion regarding me. If you want to go with someone else, you could have just said so."

The ORB representative turned to march out of the door. "I'm making that statement now by finding my own. The lover boy here can go to hell for all I care," she said as she began walking.

"It's a pity. With you returning to ORB tomorrow and Shinn having a hectic schedule, I thought that by arranging this, I'm doing you a favor."

The dangled carrot did its work and Cagalli stopped. "What favor?"

"Why, giving you the time to ask Shinn about Kira, since the two of them spent the afternoon together, frolicking in the sand under the sun."

"You're making it look as if I was at the beach," Shinn protested. "And how come I suddenly feel dirty and perverted?"

Cagalli turned around, glared at Erica for a full ten seconds before storming toward Shinn, yanked his hand so hard that she almost dislocated it and pulled him out of the room despite the man's anguished protest.

Erica didn't make a comment and instead waited until the two left the room to continue with her sunset watching. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight…but why is it that I feel that the storm will be coming… and we'll be caught inside it?"

* * *

Terrence Shauzer didn't exactly fit in the mold of the stereotypical nerd. He was lecherous and all time sexist pig who always got hit because of his lame attempts to hit on girls; in short, a jerk's jerk. However, there was no mistaking that he was the pillar behind STI, the only upstart company that managed to secure the final place in the Rimane Competition. However, that didn't come without tongues wagging, especially about him working with ZAFT. In fact, there were less subtle people who accused him of stealing ZAFT's secrets outright. However, to quote his own word, 'I don't give a hoot to those jackasses since Terminal also did the same but no one commented.'

That didn't mean that he had copied ZAFT's Phalanx design in order to create Vanguard; the differences were too numerous. Besides, his design philosophy wasn't exactly normal.

"I've finished the simulation," a male voice announced.

"That's nice to know, Yamato, though I notice there's a 'but' in your statement."

"Two actually."

"Shoot."

"The model in the simulation that I went through just now is a bit similar to Strike Freedom."

Terrence pondered his answer carefully. "Because it is Strike Freedom, I guess."

"Why do you ask me to try that one?"

The mobile suit designer sighed. "Look, I thought that when we hired you, we hired a test pilot, not an auditor."

"I thought you'll be happy that I do extra works despite the meager salary I get," Kira remarked.

"Nope. Not happy at all since you're the one who offered to work with us. No one will be happy at all if some excellent pilot from someone else's team suddenly turned up on your doorstep, works for the salary, which I have to say decent enough and above the minimum wage law, but at the same time asks a lot of awkward questions."

"Are you saying that I might be spying for Morgenroete?" Kira asked incredulously.

"No, though I'm sure you wouldn't like it if I ask you regarding Skyknight propulsion, especially on how it ensures that the ion flow wouldn't be interrupted despite repeated reconfiguration between mobile suit and mobile armour, unlike the problems faced by Murasames. I heard that you had helped in solving that problem."

The brusque statement did cause Kira to become quiet.

Seeing that he had won the verbal match, Terrence grinned. "See? That's the point that I was trying to make. It's not that I don't trust you but there are some things you can't tell anyone. It's not you either. Even if another pilot asked me the same question, he'll get the same answer."

"Then, may I ask another question?"

"As long as it's not the secret sauce or something."

"From what I can see, despite Vanguard's size, the weapons that it carries are…"

"Too little?" Terrence interrupted. "Because weaponry is not the only consideration or else, you would be piloting a beehive-like mobile weapon with a lot of beam rifles and nothing else. Um… of course, you wouldn't be piloting such monstrosity because I wouldn't be caught designing something like that. Maybe the example is a bit on the extreme side but Vanguard, as it is, has balanced offensive, defensive as well as miscellaneous capabilities." Of course, some information had to be held from Yamato.

"Thank you for clearing that up for me."

"To tell you honestly, when I was ten years old, I did dream of making a totally cool robot with five hundred weapons. When I showed the picture to a girl, she chided me for being an idiot, saying that her parents couldn't even fit twenty clothing into a travelling bag, so who am I to cramp so many weapons into a robot. At that time, I stomped her feet and caused her to cry but when I look back, I saw the wisdom in her words."

"Where was the girl now?"

Terrence shrugged but had a grin on his face. "Maybe trying to fit some more 'clothing' into her mobile suit; pretty ironic if you asked me." He eyed his watch. "Time to get your handsome sleep. We're going to have fun cleaning the innards tomorrow." He walked away and stopped after a few steps. "By the way, Kira, I do know the real reason why you join us. You are trying to find out about what happened that day, aren't you?"

Kira didn't answer him.

"You're as transparent as they come, really." Terrence sighed again. "When you asked me about the simulation just now, I was a bit angry but right now I have calmed enough to say that she wouldn't be using it because she can't and the reason why she can't is because she isn't here anymore. Once the competition is over, I promise that I'll give Fallen's black box to you. That way, you don't have to drag the rest of the wreckage back under the pretext of reverse-engineering."

He continued walking, this time not even stopping.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late," Lacus said as she entered the room, looking at the people in it. There were less than ten people in the room, one of them being Eileen Canaver, the interim Chairwoman of PLANTs after Patrick Zala was killed in the first war. It was a surprise to see her present in what supposed to be the UNITY government's weekly meeting. "It's nice meeting you here. It's been a while."

"I wish we could have met on a better circumstance," the other woman said, confusing her. It was then Lacus noticed that the atmosphere in the room was rather somber.

"Have a seat, Lacus," Mark Robinson, the de facto leader of Eurasian-Atlantic Confederation invited. "Some wine?" he asked as an attendance moved in to serve her.

"Er, no thanks. I'll pass." She had passed the legal age to drink liquor but Lacus didn't really develop a taste for it. "Some coffee, please," she said to the attendance.

"Bring her some peppermint tea," Canaver interjected before turning toward the pink princess. "Caffein's adenosine-retarding behavior is really unneeded right now."

Lacus narrowed her eyes. She knew the effect of that substance and how it prevented the brain from slowing down; she just couldn't understand the relationship between it and the current situation. Giving a cursory look around the room, she could see that everyone was edgy but yet they patiently waited for her drink to be served.

"Now that we have got that out of the way," Mark said as he watched the attendance leave the room, "tell me, Lacus, are you still familiar with the mythical Pandora Box?"

"Yes, though the box is a misinterpretation of what supposed to be a jar."

"Right, Pandora's Jar… or whatever," Mark said. "So about the story… what can you glean from it?"

"If we look past some minor issues regarding the story, the most basic lesson inside it is that power corrupts."

"True," someone else agreed.

"I still don't see what this has to do with the meeting."

"Tell me, Clyne," a man asked, "What happens, hypothetically of course, if we have two or even more Pandoras in the beginning?"

"The box will probably be opened sooner."

"Two boxes?"

"More evil will be unleashed, I guess."

"Good," Canaver said. "Now you will understand what we're going to tell you. The truth is humankind has been sitting on not just one, but two Pandora boxes."

"Sorry?"

Mark let out a long breath. "Let's start from the very beginning. Don't take this wrongly, but the emergence of Coordinators is something that wasn't supposed to happen."

"Please continue," Lacus said despite not liking what she had heard. It was as if Mark suggested that it would be better if Coordinators didn't exist.

But the man seemed to know her thought. "That goes both ways, Lacus. If Coordinators don't exist, I probably wouldn't exist either. Every event leads to another event. Back to my explanation. Just a single man, a man by the name of George Clenn stunned the world with his revelation that he was a Coordinator and by broadcasting the techniques and knowhow on how to create Coordinator babies, his action had led to the world forever changed."

Lacus knew what happened next. Slowly, Coordinators grew in numbers until normal people, known as Naturals began to get jealous of their abilities and began ostracizing them. That was what led to them fleeing Earth and making their home in PLANTs.

"If I have to say it, George Clenn is the man that reveal the existence of the fabled forbidden box, sorry jar, and revealed humankind's more insidious nature, be it Naturals or Coordinators, leading to the past two wars breaking out."

"I still don't get it."

"Lady Lacus," Canaver said. "The technology to create a Coordinator isn't supposed to found out by at least another fifty years."

Lacus eyes widened. More than seventy years had passed since the beginning of Cosmic Era and Canaver was telling her that Coordinator wasn't supposed to exist for another fifty years? Suddenly she had a desire to have something stiff to prevent the headache forming in her head. "Human's progress is artificially boosted, is that what you're telling me?"

Mark massaged his temple. "A myth predating Cosmic Era tells that someone by the name of Hitler was given some fragments of what was inside a Pandora box by a shadowy organization that allowed him to bend German to his iron will. However, the man got greedy and went against his masters and they in return gave his enemies means of defeating him; one of which is supposed to be the nuclear bomb technology. Perhaps the same organization was behind our first Coordinator, the organization by the name of LOGOS."

"LOGOS?" Lacus stood up, toppling her drink on the table.

"Sit down," Canaver said, calming her. After Lacus had sat again, the former Chairwoman continued. "The rumors are unproven. However, two facts remain. First, LOGOS did possess technologies that exceed normal evolutionary path. Second, regardless of whether George Clenn was a member of LOGOS or not, he had found more than just alien life form in Jupiter."

"Another Pandora Box, or to put it bluntly, alien technology that eventually made way to PLANTs," Mark added.

Suddenly it made sense to Lacus; how certain technology such as mobile suit, Phase Shift armor, N-Jammer as well N-Jammer Canceller can be developed even though few of them seemed to go against the established rule of physics. "Wait… Athrun's father and Gilbert know about this?"

Canaver nodded. "Your father as well."

"Why wasn't this revealed to everyone on PLANTs and on Earth?" Lacus asked sharply.

"Remember the question about more Pandoras looking into the boxes?" Mark asked. "Both ZAFT and LOGOS-led Alliance opened up their respective Pandora boxes in the previous wars and see what almost happened. The term 'Pandora boxes' really applies because most of the technologies contained inside them are military based." He paused to take a sip from his wine. "Come to think of it, all of us are just like monkeys being given guns to use; we don't realize how dangerous they are."

Lacus was silent as she pondered on Mark's words. True, power can corrupt and when someone holds more power than other people, the tendency for him to become corrupted is even larger. She understood the need to keep the secret safe. Then an unsettling thought entered her mind. "If less people know the better, why am I being informed of this?"

"First, you are the current leader of PLANTs, so you must be briefed in order to understand the importance of ensuring that such technologies wouldn't fall into the wrong hands." Canaver took a deep breath. "But the real reason is we have reasons to believe that the late Chairman Durandal have found another box"

* * *

"I told you that's what he said," Shinn said calmly as he eyed the punch on the table, wondering he could offer to bring her a cup and then use the opportunity to ditch her. For someone who always acted self-righteously, which sickened him, the Attha heiress could sure harass someone. A harassing heiress. His eyes twitched when he realized that he had made a joke, a rather funny one at that.

"What are you thinking about?" the blonde woe-in-she's-clothing in front of him asked. "Why am I seeing that smile on your face? Are you having some lecherous thoughts regarding me?"

There were so many answers that he could and wanted to give but none of them were positive. Angering the head of the state in front of everyone wouldn't really help in polishing his already colorful resume. Maybe he could trick her into going else somewhere more quiet and secluded… he mentally shook off the suggestion; everyone would certainly suspect him of the murder. He took a calming breath, remembering that yoga class he had skipped numerous times while taking the anger and stress management subject back at ZAFT academy. "It's like what I told you," he paused for a fraction of a second, "Lady Attha."

"I'm sorry for sounding suspicious but there's no way I believe your 'he praised my rather superb piloting skill and uh, yeah he sent his regards to you too'"

There was no way she wasn't a Coordinator, not without that sharp memory, Shinn decided. He had to admit he did go a bit overboard with the story. "Okay, he told me that my piloting suck lemon and asked me to relay the message to you that he's safe and sound and is sorry for making you worry."

"That even sounds outrageous. First of all, he's not like you who like to put down someone else. Secondly, he fought you, not Athrun or anything so of course he wouldn't expect someone like you to really relay the message."

Really a woe-in-she's-clothing, that woman.

"So, if you don't believe me why bother asking in the first place?"

"I don't need to whether he said anything regarding me but I just want to find out," Cagalli softened her voice a bit, "about his condition; I'm his sister and have the right to be worried after all. But maybe I'm asking too much from you."

Suddenly, Shinn felt a bit guilty for being a bit gruff on her. After all, he could empathize with her; he _did_ have a sister. Of course, her father was the cause of his sister and parents' deaths, but it wouldn't be very fair to blame her. "Actually, he did ask me to tell you not to worry as he had some personal issues to solve. That's after asking me why I joined Morgenroete's."

Being nice felt… itchy to the bone.

Perhaps fate had intervened in his favor as someone approached the representative to whisper something and she quickly left the place after pushing him to the ground in her haste.

He would of course forget about that feeling when he learned about his new mission the day after that. "Why am I assigned with the baby sitting job already?" Shinn asked as he walked to his assigned Murasame.

Unlike the currently fielded versions, his was equipped with the experimental Zangetsu module originally developed for Cagalli's personal mobile suit, ORB-00 Shizuka. Increasing Murasame's firepower at the expense of its agility in atmospheric flight, the module was proposed as a stopgap enhancement to increase Murasames' performance while waiting for the next generation mobile suit to be developed. Morgenroete had decided that it was better to wait until the winner of the Rimane Competition was determined. Because the winning design team would be required to license the design to interested authorized parties, ORB could easily create a similar version of mobile suit and thus benefit from economic of scale advantage as well as lower maintenance cost.

"Ms. Simpsons decided that the princess would require extra escort on her way back," the man who walked beside him replied while having his head buried in the open green book he was carrying.

"You might stumble on a wrench or a screwdriver, Tay."

"But I am not. Besides, this novel you gave me is very good. QOH had done a wonderful job of writing this story as well as narrating the fights that it felt very real, you know, as if he himself had fought in the previous wars."

"Yeah, yeah." At least the man had stopped reading the orange-covered smut written by that infamous Arrow Sage. But Tay had raised a very good point. Who was the person behind the QOG acronym? He had heard that QOH meant Quilt of Hawk, but the elusive writer was yet to be identified. Shinn had read the book a bit before throwing it at Tay's head to stop him from reading smut and was perplexed by the writing. The way of writing, it was as if it was written by pilot rather than a normal author; technical descriptions as well as the flyboys' parlance were sprinkled freely in the novel.

The rather strong-willed Carrey Dinar of the Sphere Colony character seemed a bit familiar to Shinn but he couldn't be sure.

"WHAT?" an indignantly female voice rang through the hangar. It was woe-in-she's-clothing, this time wearing that drab uniform again. "WHY MUST I BE ESCORTED BACK TO ORB BY HIM?" she asked as she walked together with a rather calm Erica.

"You know very well why. Tactical and strategic common sense will always prevail against individual want."

Cagalli huffed. Erica had used that argument against, knowing very well she couldn't counter it. "That doesn't mean I have to like it." It was understandable that the military bigwigs were concerned for her safety that her trip to the testing base had to be cut short. The sobering information about an unidentified mobile suit wreaking havoc at the newly launched Confederation orbital defense station the night before didn't really inspire confidence in them.

"And I don't like it either," Shinn added as he gave a withering gaze at an unfazed Erica. "We can collect more valuable data."

"Yes, we can," the head of the research concurred. "Further testing will determine the real extent of Skyknight's damage."

"Huh?"

"I miscalculated its ability to withstand harsh environment. Traces of silica had been found in the joints."

"Silica? That means…"

"The sand in the joints were heated up at such a heat that it a wonder you're still here. As a result of that I identified two main problems with the joint connection: protection against harsh environment as well as proper heat management for them."

"So Skyknight will be grounded," Cagalli asked, not liking where the discussion was leading to. After all, as ORB's leader, she had vested interest in the project's success.

"Until Shinn or someone else returns with the required spare parts."

"Why me?"

Erica shrugged but there a smile on her face. "Simply put, you're out of the job for the moment and the parts are at Morgenroete's base in ORB. And since you're going the same way with Lady Attha…"

Shinn groaned.

* * *

An hour had passed since he had launched, he was bored. He looked at the aircraft he was escorting, wondering why in the world the Attha heiress required a wing with two AWACS Murasames to protect her. With him included, there were fifteen Murasames that was detailed for that task.

There was a chirp in the speaker and the wing leader appeared on a screen. "I'm keeping my eye on you, traitorous scum."

The former ZAFT pilot sighed. There was no escaping his past after all. "You're free to queue behind others."

"A wise guy, eh? I'm sure you can always think of something funny as you go along killing innocent people."

Shinn's mind whirled back to the memory where he, running amok in anger over what he perceived as Alliance's injustice, accidentally destroyed a clinic and killed the people inside. That dark spot in his past eventually led to an attempt to kill him by only survivor of the incidence. "Maybe you're right…"

There was a loud buzzer sound. "We have an aircraft coming toward us," one of the AWACS pilots interrupted as simultaneously the radar onboard each aircrafts was updated with the information on the newcomer

"Visual?" the wing leader asked.

"None. It's hiding in the clouds underneath," the pilot answered before keeping quiet for a moment. "It's an unkno… holy shit! It had gotten a lock on the princess' jet."

"Full jamming with radar off. Switch to passive ion radiation sensing" Shinn ordered as his past experience took control of the situation. "Minimize radio communication. He didn't care that he had overstep his authority but he had fought with enemies specializing in radio silence warfare and he could see how dreadfully effective it was. Any radio signal, be it radar or a communication burst could be used to identify the location of the transmitter. Shutting radar and not using any radio transmission would help to ensure that their enemy wouldn't be able to use any anti-radar weapons

He signaled for the escorting wing to change course, still not realizing that he had usurped the wing leader's position as his mind was focusing on how to deal with the newcomer. Fortunately, the rest followed with much problem, changing their vector; they probably realized that petty conflicts didn't matter as much as ensuring Attha's safety. .

"Mobile armour?" Shinn asked to himself as he evaluated the unknown aircraft that was coming its way. Unlike his mobile suit which was prominently white and red in color, its body was mostly stalactite grey with only few dark blue outlines in the wing section and the fuselage. The rather drab color scheme caused an alarm to go off in Shinn's mind as it indicated that the aircraft was intended to fly at night or in space; he knew that grey color gave it lower observability.

But what confounded Shinn was the rather sleek but unconventional design of the mobile armour. It looked somewhat futuristically _organic_,having numerous rounded edges when compared to his Murasame. He could see the design would ensure that aircraft had better aerodynamics than any presently known design so far. Two pair of wings could be seen on it, with a pair swept forward like Murasame's and the other smaller one swept backward. Two additional booster-like units on top of the mobile armour completed the illusion of it being an advanced design, making his own mobile suit looked like horrendously outdated relic..

"This is ORB's air force. As with New Delhi Convention, you are hereby ordered to turn back or face the consequence."

The pilot of the mobile armour didn't answer but Shinn knew that it wouldn't simply turn back and run away peacefully, considering that it was carrying missile pods on its wings; it wasn't there to perform acrobatic moves as in-flight entertainment to the ORB prince, er, princess.

Shinn waited for the targeting system to get a fix on the mobile armour and then pressed the trigger. Multiple missiles whose heads could penetrate Phase Shift armor as well as damage any lightwave barriers were launched. Guided by Murasame's onboard Doppler radar, they sought their lone prey kilometers away.

To Shinn's surprise, the mobile armour disappeared from the radar.

"Mirage Colloid?" Shinn asked as he switched to remote visual tracking. The only good thing fighting against a vehicle equipped with Mirage Colloid was that it couldn't use its own weapons when the system was activated. To his relief, the mobile armour was spotted in a strangely vertical position, maintaining only enough trust to remain static. That was why the Doppler radar couldn't detect it as the equipment was designed to detect moving objects.

"You're very naïve," the young pilot whispered. During the first war, the radar's weaknesses had been discovered by all warring factions due to mobile suit's ability to remain static for a long time. Because of that, other sensing systems had been developed. One of those was ion radiation sensing that could detect all kind of propulsion trails. And it was exactly that system that was built into the missiles, causing them to never lose their target as they trekked on menacingly.

Realizing that its gambit failed, the mobile armour changed direction and dove toward the sea level, while at the same time releasing numerous flares when the missiles were close enough. Some of its hunters fell for the worthless baits and multiple explosions dotted the sky. However, the others kept up their chase, slowly closing in on the mobile armour.

From his vantage position, Shinn saw additional explosions, all of them occurring at the same spot on the ocean below. Smirking at his success in getting rid of the hostile unit, he was about to change vector to rejoin the others when a single shot beam shot narrowly missed his Murasame.

He had no time to dwell on what just happened as the onboard computer flashed warnings: multiple missiles were closing in on his Murasame.

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (17 August 2008)**

1. Well, here's you are, second chapter and when introducing Shinn's rival, I somehow heard that Gundam 00 Union's theme playing in my head. Yeah, somehow Shinn and Setsuna got transposed in my mind when writing it.

2. The maneuver that the grey mobile armour did, it's similar to Su-30's ability where the jet would raise its angel of attack until it's ninety degrees and then control the thrust so that it would be static. Wham. Instant stealth against Doppler radar. But it's still vulnerable to other methods though.


	4. The grey sky

Shinn opened his eyes to a very bright light as caustic smell resembling charred vanilla invaded his olfaction sense. Narrowing his eyes, he turned away from the bright light, letting his sensitive eyes adjust to the surrounding at a more natural pace. Slowly, the blurry being that seemed to sway happily from side to side sharpened into a serious visage that stared at him without moving a single muscle.

"Stupid Youlant. He better not ended up being here or I'm going to beat him. Not only there's no St. Peter checking my name, I was sent here without a tribunal." He sniffed. "And it's even worse than described. My tormentor looked ugly as hell."

A powerful blow to his stomach knocked his lights out.

Kisaka looked at the person who knocked him out disapprovingly. "You know, Lady Attha, even though you are ORB's representative and in essence, its leader it's really an unbecoming behavior to hit a patient, despite him being uninjured from the crash. Besides, it's not his fault. He was pretty dosed up with the analgesic that he's not supposed to wake up until later this afternoon."

"Well, that means he's not supposed to wake up now," Cagalli said as she looked at the clock. It was nine twenty three in the morning. "Tell me when he really comes around _and_ in the right mind to answer questions." She left the room, muttering something.

Despite her soft voice, Kisaka could make out that she was very dissatisfied with Shinn calling her beautiful and then calling her ugly two days later.

Shinn regained his consciousness ten hours later, no doubt delayed by her punch. Forgetting what transpired earlier, Shinn touched his stomach gingerly and winced. "That pilot will pay for this. Damn, it still hurts."

Kisaka coughed, knowing that revealing the fact that Cagalli was the responsible party and not whoever that was accused, while the right thing to do, would come into conflict with his job as the keeper of her secrets. He did give her another reprimanding look, however. "How are you doing?" he asked the young man.

"Shitty."

"No, he didn't mean your usual self," Cagalli added a bit gleefully.

"You know, I had a funny dream just now where I was sent to hel…"

"We don't have time to hear you story," she interrupted, trying to feign annoyance but was slightly betrayed by her haste in doing so.

"So, what do you want to know? My birthday is three weeks from now and I'll only settle for a SUV or a strawberry sundae."

Kisaka took a step forward before Cagalli could reply. "We would like to know about your attacker."

Shinn's face hardened as he recalled the fight that led to him ending up at the hospital.

"_You're not going to get me that easy." Shinn growled as his Murasame turned hundred eighty degrees. _

_Unlike Close-In-Weapon-Systems in the pre-Cosmic Era that were used as the final or terminal defense against missiles, the units onboard regular Murasames were just ordinary mini cannons intended for close dogfights. They were ill-suited for missiles interception. While Shinn could have reconfigured his Murasame to aim the head-mounted CIWS, the numbers of missiles aimed at him and the design-constrained ammunition available to him made it probable that one of the missiles would hit him even if he used the CIWS together with Murasame's beam rifle. If he was a bit more perceptive, he would have noticed that the missiles were spread far enough to prevent any explosion caused from one taken out will affect the rest._

_Fortunately for him, his mobile suit was equipped with the Zangetsu module. Shinn quickly acquired ten nearest missiles and pressed a yellow knob to his left. On the left and right part of extended equipment, a panel slid open, revealing numerous mini-missiles on them. Thirty of them streaked out of their nest in groups of three, guided by their respective laser designator toward their targets. _

_All ten enemy missiles had been taken out and then the rest of them. _

"_Take that, you bastard!" Shinn spat as his Murasame reconfigured into mobile suit, Zangetsu's module folded but remained affixed to its back. He then tried to aim at his opponent only to have it executing an S-loop to throw his targeting off. Undaunted, Shinn fired a couple of shots, knowing very well that they would miss but forcing it to move away from him. Once he got what he wanted, his Murasame reconfigured and went after it. His opponent tried to lose him by going through a series of jinking and rolls but Shinn proved his mettle by dogging it all the way. _

_He gritted his teeth in satisfaction as the mobile armour finally got into his crosshair and pressed the trigger button. A soft humming was all that he heard; however, at the same time his Murasame's wing mounted CIWS units were spewing multiple armour-piercing rounds._

_Shinn managed to clip its left rudder, a rather dismal performance considering that he had used up almost all of the ammunition. He could have waited for the enemy to become closer but that would reduce the chance of getting a hit further as its pilot didn't seem stupid enough to make such a mistake. _

_Before he could consider his move, he saw some part of the mobile armour began moving. "SHIT!" he cursed as he tried to follow suit but it was in vain. The mobile armour's front swept wings swept to the front until both wings were almost parallel to the body. Simultaneously, it engaged its airbrakes and the back wings' ailerons. The mobile armour lost some speed but at the same time gain some lift; its angle of attack was akin to a cobra ready to strike its victim. In just a split second, Shinn and his prey had exchanged roles. And attack Shinn it did. _

_The Zangetsu module had to be jettisoned before it exploded thanks to the damages inflicted by the mobile armour. However, what it lost in term of firepower, Shinn's Murasame made it up with extra mobility. Just before the mobile armour could fire off its CIWS again, Shinn reconfigured his Murasame, taking advantage of the sudden loss of aerodynamic to reduce its speed. Just as the mobile armour passed underneath him, Shinn punched it, having no time to draw the beam rifle. Even then, the punch wasn't meant to damage it but rather to disorient the pilot inside. _

_Even before the mobile armour got out of its tail spin, Shinn already let loose a couple of shots but none of them hit their mark. Eventually, it flew toward him, deftly evading Shinn's skilled attack like a sky-borne ballerina while not even firing a single shot in retaliation, confusing Shinn. He really didn't care though as he was only interested in shooting it down, not to think about needless thoughts. He reconfigured his mobile suit and throttled up to accept the unspoken challenge from his opponent; telling the pilot that he too can play 'chicken'. As if understanding and accepting it, his enemy continued on its vector despite continuing so will cause the two of them to collide in the air. _

_Shinn swallowed a bit as the distance between the two of them became smaller and smaller. But he wouldn't be cowed out and maintained the vector. It would be his opponent who would retreat, not him. _

_Milliseconds by milliseconds, the distance kept reducing and reducing until the mobile armour filled up almost half of the screen when Shinn's baser instinct took over and he engaged the airbrake and pushed the control stick down; his Murasame lifted itself above the mobile armour just in time. He heard was a loud screeching sound and the last thing he saw before everything went black was a faceless metallic gargantuan peering at him, as if sneering at his defeat._

"We exchange some missiles here and there but…" he trailed as he couldn't think of the exact words to use to describe what happened.

"This?" Kisaka's question was very simple but a picture that he held was very descriptive.

Shinn tried to reach for the photo but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. "Yeah. That's the face of the mobile suit that I saw."

"We got it from the black box," Cagalli said. "No visible optical sensors, no antennae, no nothing. Only smooth rounded surface. Unfortunately, that's all the camera got before it was destroyed."

"We only know that the mobile armour can reconfigure into mobile suit… how very helpful. So… What happened after that?"

Cagalli raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Well, you should know better than everybody over what happens."

Shinn had to do his very best to keep his mouth shut. Simply blaming her for being blonde didn't sound politically correct. She was the goddamned ruler of a country and yet she was as oblivious as an ostrich that stuck its head into a hole in the ground. "It's like you said, the camera was taken out and I lost control of my Murasame. What happened after that?"

Surprised that Shinn didn't become agitated by her taunt Cagalli acquiesced to answering his question. "We detected another radar signature approaching the area. So I sent three mobile suits to provide backup but by the time they arrived, the hostile unit and the other one had left."

Kisaka cleared his throat. "Your mobile suit was slowly sinking into the water."

Okay, Shinn owe her his life, but he was still questioning her intelligence. "Tha… thank you, Lady Attha… I guess." Why is it that thanking her felt _harder _than fighting her brother in one-on-one combat? Maybe it's because he owed his life to a ditzy princess, he reasoned, not realizing the fact that the dead girl he liked was even more oblivious. "So… when will I get the Purple Heart?"

"We're not Atlantic Federation or Confederation, Asuka." Cagalli answered.

"Right," the young Coordinator drawled as he realized that his throat was a bit parched. "Order of Nebulae?"

The blonde heiress didn't say a word.

"…So, no medal?"

"Is all that you care about is getting some goddamned medal?" Cagalli growled, her voice raised a few decibels.

"A can of cola."

"Excuse me?"

"Right now I really appreciate a can of cola more than a stupid medal that would only be useful in the self-boasting stories that I will tell my kids."

Cagalli's eyes widened before she snorted. "I really pity the dumb girl who will end up with you," she said before she spun on her heels and marched out of the room.

Kisaka sighed at her departure before turning to regard Shinn. "I guess rather than mentioning about the medal, your self-boasting stories would be based on how you managed to get a leader of a country to buy you a can of cola. So, you may want to keep the can as a proof but it would be hard to really prove your story."

Shinn couldn't believe his ears. "You're saying that she's going out to buy me a cola?"

The other man nodded.

"Damn!" Shinn cursed. "I should have made a comment about getting my apartment cleaned."

Kisaka shook his head. "You should know that she felt somewhat responsible for you being injured in the battle."

Once again, Shinn had an epiphany to keep his mouth shut, lest he say something incredibly stupid or provoking to complement the scowl on his face.

The ORB advisor deemed it was better to change the topic. "What's your opinion on GM-One?"

"GM-One?"

"We have designated the mobile suit as 'Grey Moth' due to its wings configuration while in mobile armor mode."

Reluctantly, Shinn found himself having to estimate the capabilities of the mobile suit that defeated him.

"Formidable. The gap between Murasame and "

"I expected as much." Kisaka looked at the door before continuing. "Well, with her out of the way, this is as good as any to have a little talk with you."

"Let me guess… you're going to reprimand me for disrespecting her and torture me with a lecture?"

To Shinn's discomfort, the other man looked as if he was considering the suggestion. "No. We're going to talk about you." The man pushed something on the table and handed it to Shinn.

Upon receiving the said item, the young man examined what was being displayed. "Okay… I'm to suppose to check whether this is my body or something?"

"For the record, I was against them picking you to be the test pilot," Kisaka raised his hand to forestall any objection, "because I don't want you to think that we're similar to Gilbert."

"Maybe you can start by being less cryptic."

"Have you ever wondered why, despite you being a refugee from ORB, you was selected to pilot Impulse and then Destiny?"

"My high score?"

Kisaka shook his head. "I anticipated that question and had someone retrieve your batch's real academy score. You can look it up on the tablet."

Shinn did as he was told and was surprised. "Rafeah Noon got the highest score?"

"Truy Ang got the second followed by Rey Za Burel. You were placed fifteenth place… from the bottom although you're second next to Rey Za Burrel when it comes to mobile suit combat. Then again, even if you achieve perfect score and became the best student, it is against normal security procedure to choose a non-national become a pilot of a very advance prototype."

"What's your point?"

"Kimi, tensai datto, as they say it in Japanese."

"You're calling me a genius…" Shinn asked incredulously. It confused him that other person didn't look like as if he would compliment people easily. Sure, that didn't mean the ORB bodyguard wouldn't give compliments now and then but Shinn knew that for such a person to give a compliment was rather rare because he would mean it.

"That is for those who don't know you."

Then again, maybe not. It would be easy to feel insulted if such statement was made by another person but the man didn't look like as if he would insult people that often too.

"Or to Gilbert, you're a holder of SEED."

"Sorry?"

Kisaka proceeded to explain to Shinn about Superior Evolutionary Element Destined-Factor or simply known as SEED as well as what it meant to be one. While Shinn scoffed at such a colorful imaginative story that he was telling, eventually the former began to quiet down when he accurately described the tell-tale signs of the ability's activation. When he had finished, Shinn had a thoughtful look on him.

"Are you saying that I was chosen because of what I have?"

"Yes."

"It finally makes sense, I guess. I always wondered why…"

"Cagalli is also a carrier as well."

"You're kidding me," Shinn retorted but the expression on Kisaka didn't change. "Her really fighting in the first war wasn't fabricated for the sake of propaganda?"

"She was there despite my misgiving."

"Aren't you coddling her?"

"She can only help her people if she's alive, Asuka." Kisaka held up a hand to quell the question that was about to be asked.

The door opened and Cagalli waltzed in with a can of drink in her hand.

"Why the sudden silence?" Cagalli asked as she leaned on a nearby cupboard.

A look at Kisaka told Shinn that the conversation they had was over so he turned toward the can she was holding. "Hey, I asked for a Cola, not Oolong tea,"

Cagalli pulled the tab and took a small pull. "Who told you that I'm buying you something to drink?"

However, when she and Kisaka left, Shinn noticed that there was another can near the cupboard. Grinning and congratulating himself for making a country leader became his errand girl he got off the bed and went to fetch the can.

That self-satisfactory smiled disappeared when he opened the can as carbonated water gushed out and drenched his face.

Apparently, that very same country leader shook the can a few times before leaving it for him to take.

* * *

Malik Yardsbird yawned and looked at his watch. He had been travelling onboard the shuttle for few hours and even being a Coordinator didn't prevent him from having a jet lag. He turned to look outside to see only murky darkness and then at his travelling companion, Vino Dupre had an eye cover on and was snoring slightly. A small growl from his own stomach caused Malik to decide to go to the mini bar located at the back of the aircraft.

As he floated along with the corridor, he wondered about the rather lucky break he got. Heine and Meyrin were discussing about their plan to set up their planned café when they was approached by a young and eager insurance salesman. After a thorough explanation and much cajoling as well pleading from the said person who had claimed that they were his first customers, they bought their policies; something that they didn't do earlier because they were part of military and insurance wouldn't cover military personnel.

To their surprise, they won free trip to the newly completed colony. Fortunately for Malik and Vino, the two were already committed to the launch of their shop that they couldn't spare the time.

Malik had always wanted to visit the colony anyway.

Although the construction had begun ten years prior, it was stalled numerous times by the tension between Earth and PLANTs and later on by two wars. It was rather sad fact, because being the brainchild of Siegel Clyne and supported by the moderate United Nation council before it was wiped out by terrorist attack, the colony would eventually become the symbol of unity as well as prove that both Coordinators and Naturals didn't matter; they were humans after all. While miraculously it had escaped the scarring by the two wars, it couldn't be completed until a month before, a rather opportune time in Malik's opinion seeing that UNITY was facing multiple challenges to its efforts.

Meyrin had told him to scout a good location for their restaurant's branch that was planned to be opened in twelve month's time. The girl was somewhat _too optimistic _in Malik's opinion.

Taking a seat at the small counter, he eyed the menu. While all seemed delicious, the truth was that due to the atmospheric pressure as well the non-existent gravity, his ability to smell was retarded by the constant runny nose. As a result of that, he couldn't smell the aroma of any food he eats. In fact, he could eat an onion and pass it off as an apple, not that he was interested in doing so; he hated apples.

"Three hours more," the man next to him said, "and they couldn't fool with this cardboard imitation of a pizza."

"I can't wait," Malik commented offhandedly.

The man turned, and offered his hand. "Doolitles, but you can call me Roger."

"Malik. Malik Yardsbirds." He noticed that the rather young man had his hair dyed but that was contrasted by his rather mature outlook. "Please to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you too." Roger paused as the bartender put a magnetized front tray on the steel counter in front of Malik. "They claimed that the colony's climate will be tropical though I hardly think that it'll be similar to Florida."

An alarm went off in Malik's head. "Florida, you mean?"

"More accurately, Tampa. Land of the Gasparilla Pirate Carnival. So, where are you from?"

"Once again I'm sorry."

"Can't blame you since we have a lot of nutjobs propagating the stereotype."

"We have a couple of our own too."

"Yeah, but ours are 'badder', if there's such a word."

"I disagree. Ours are so badass, we built two Death Stars."

The two of them chuckled at the irony of life, a lesson learned surviving a war. With the previous tension gone, they conversed to the extent of swapping war stories upon learning that they are, even though on the opposing sides during the previous war, were indeed kindered souls.

"You're telling me that your ace got bitchslapped by his commander?" Roger asked disbelievedly. "And the commander is a guy? That's a riot, man. After hearing about your ship I somehow keep getting the impression of Noah's Ark instead of the famous Minerva."

"Noah's Ark?"

"Political animals,"

"Oh," Malik said in understanding before laughing. He did appreciate that kind of jokes as well. "So what did you do?"

"In the first, I polish my Dagger's butt so that Yamato can kick it. Did the same thing in the second war too until got my new and shiny Windam. After that I joined the Confeds; there's no way I'm going let him scratch the custom paint job. Blew two months salary for that."

"He's rather unique," Malik admitted, recalling that Minerva had to go against the ace a few time as well.

"Do tell." Cleaning up his plate, Roger decided that a change of topic was in order. "So, Malik, if you don't mind me asking, how did you die?"

"Sorry?"

"You know… the official cover for your disappearance." Roger snapped his finger. "Oh, right. I'm supposed to go first. I chocked on artichoke." He thumbed toward another man who was floating back to his seat. "Abrafo here, despite his name meaning warrior in African, got whacked by a couple of drug addicts."

"Screw you,"

"So," Malik began slowly, "everyone aboard this shuttle are officially dead? Why?"

"Joining perquisites."

"Joining perquisites. Join what?"

The look on Roger was one of disbelief. "The new setup, of course. What, you think this trip is some kind of a holiday cruise or something?"

The former radar operator flinched at the other man's words as realization hit him hard. The contest was a sham.

Roger then saw something on the television and his expression changed. "Oh, forget about the question I asked just now," he said while pointing to the screen.

The other man watched the television as well and almost got a heart attack.

Two days later, on Januarius One, a congregation of people was gathered around two fresh graves.

"Vino," Youlant said while wiping his wet eyes with the back of his hand, "I'll take care of your Go Go Heaven collection,"

"There, there, Youlant," a female voice comforted while squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure that he doesn't want you to cry on his behalf. I know it's very hard, but he'll probably want us to smile and be happy." A handkerchief was offered.

Youlant took the handkerchief and blew on it. "Thanks, Meyrin. I feel better now." He sobbed while holding out the damp handkerchief. "Here, you can have it back."

Meyrin eyed the handkerchief. There was no way she's going to take it back. "Um… it's better if you just keep it, just in case." She turned toward Athrun who was holding her pregnant sister's hand and nodded. Understanding what she asked of them, the couple took Youlant away from the grave.

She smiled at the couple fondly. While initially it had hurt when she discovered that Athrun had fallen for her sister instead of her, Meyrin had learned to accept the fact. The almost non-existent sibling rivalry between two aside, Meyrin wanted the best for her sister and Athrun somehow fit the bill nicely.

However, she was curious about what happened between Athrun and Lady Attha. Lunamaria had once remarked that the two had some kind of relationship before the second war. The sound of a man humming disrupted her from her dwelling further. "A penny for your thought, Mr. Westenfluss?" she asked the man who was still standing next to him.

"I was thinking about naming item number twelve as 'Vino's bunker buster' and item number twenty two as 'Yardsbird's smoked turkey."

"I don't think Malik would appreciate a play on his name."

"I suppose you're right. Then how about item seven as 'Malik's sensory overload?'"

Meyrin shook her head. "I don't think naming the menu after them is a good idea as it would look as if we're being callous regarding their deaths."

Heine shrugged. "I don't really see the issue since they're not dead but instead were recruited."

"I agree but... you know, I still feel a bit guilty because we had nominated them."

"Nah, you're worrying too much," Heine said as both of them walked away from the faux graves they were visiting. "But think about it, being orphans with no close relatives, they're quite suitable for such operation as it's pretty easy to cover their disappearances. Of course, their skills made them even more valuable."

"I guess. Still, I'm a bit perplexed regarding their 'deaths'. It's a bit weird strange why UNGARD didn't come up with better story for them.

"I agree. Being inside toilets during an accidental space decompression isn't exactly a glamorous way to die."

* * *

George Clenn might be a member of LOGOS. While to most Coordinators that sound unbelievable or even borderline sacrilegious, Lacus wasn't close-minded enough to discard the possibility. Despite the lack of concrete and tangible evidences linking him to that despicable organization, the hypothesis actually made sense if it was true. In a sick and twisted sense, LOGOS could be considered as the 'true Coordinator' as it was that organization that had manipulated humanity's future since a long time ago though it could be argued that it had almost steered humanity to the brink of extinction.

The revelation had shaken the foundation of her belief system. Two years ago she had believed that a war could be stopped if everyone could understand each other. That was grossly incorrect because a war didn't start because of a misunderstanding but rather because none of the conflicting parties were willing to concede or even share their wants, regardless whether those desires are noble or otherwise. To Lacus, a war is no longer between the right and wrong but rather to determine the power to help shape or, to some megalomaniacs, to control and subjugate the future.

She would do anything to stop such mad people.

The ZAFT representative tore her attention away from a diagram of a new battleship. UNITY would be fielding the Felidae-class ships in its frontline force. 340 meter length and 270 wide excluding wing span, a Felidae-class ship had two detachable mobile suit holds, located on its left and right side; each one was able to carry six mobile suits. Each section a tri-star shaped linear catapult that would be able to launch as well as recover three mobile suits or mobile armour. While the configuration necessitates the mobile suits be launched in prone position the addition of fully automated loader alleviates the problem. During testing it was also found out that launching mobile suits in prone position was better than normal launch as it reduced drag significantly, resulting in a higher launch speed.

But if would-be enemies thought that the ship itself was sparsely armed, they would set themselves up for a very rude surprise. Despite being armed with a single Taunhasser-caliber positron cannons, it also carried various smaller weapons, one of which was the beam CIWS capable of destroying a mobile suit equipped with a Phase-Shift armor. Also, as an afterthought, even though it had laminated armor, its designers also put a lightwave barrier generator in its bow, allowing it to block a frontal attack although engaging the system would render the positron cannon inoperable.

Unlike Archangel and Minerva-class ships, Felidae would have two specialized variants, Felinae and Panthera. The Felinae variant was optimized for atmospheric operations, being significantly faster than its predecessors. On the other hand, a Panthera ship was more suited for space' harsher environment, having redundant support system as well as a limited 'self-healing' capability that allowed the ship to last longer when damaged.

Lacus reached for the dossier on the table. Puma, the first of the Felinae type had just been completed. To her surprise, her former fiancé had been proposed to become its captain. The Panthera-type Leo was still being constructed with the completion date projected in another nine months' time whereby Lynx, another Felinae-type, ship would be ready in a year.

Unfortunately, her instinct told her that UNITY would require all three of them in service way sooner than that.

She put the dossier down in order to take a folder. Opening it, she eyed the signatures that were already present on the document. Taking a pen, she pondered about the consequence of her signature. Only hers would be break the deadlock of opinions amongst the UNITY members as both sides had even number of supporters, arguing different approaches to achieve the same goal.

"Kira, I wish you're here," she whispered, full of unrequited emotions and feelings. All she wanted at that time was to be with him; when she's with him, the world's burdens didn't seem too overwhelming.

However, he was chasing after _her _shadow. The shadow of the person that had manipulated him in the first war and was supposed to have perished when the shuttle she was on was destroyed by Creuset. However, that was untrue as she had reappeared in the second war, working with Confederation. Lacus had heard that Kira had rebuked _her _and that fact was confirmed when the two had fought again in final battle of the second war. In fact, without him knowing, Lacus had listened to the two's conversation.

Just like in the first war, Fallen's pilot wanted to kill her.

Lacus wasn't one to fear death despite her appearance and when she took command of Minerva at that time, she was fully prepared for everything. Yet, as Kira fought to protect her, she felt very happy.

Then Kira lost.

But _she _had spared him and went on to throw _her _life away.

As a result, _she _had dealt a very damaging blow to Kira soul, tearing open the still-fresh wounds of the heart that Lacus had painstakingly and lovingly labored to heal.

In a way, Lacus was jealous of the red-haired woman who had manipulated Kira like a string puppet in the first war but yet remained as one of his most important people. Even when she was gone, Kira was still after her, trying to find out everything regarding her death. Lacus had just found out from her sources that he had joined STI as the test pilot for that purpose. While every inch of her being told her to fly to his side, her responsibility prevented her from doing so. Besides, she reluctantly admitted that he had to find his own closure even…

The ship's diagram on the screen disappeared and was replaced by Eileen Canaver's face. Lacus didn't like what she saw as the other person's expression was one of terror. "Lady Lacus, UNITY's forward base in Dhaka had been destroyed!"

"_Yet, the world continues to be embroiled in the never ending confrontation," _she thought to herself. "Casualties? Survivors?"

Eileen shook her head, answering two questions with one answer.

"Who are the perpetrators?"

"A recon BeCue had just returned from a nearby patrol and thus survived the attack. It managed to get this."

A smaller window appeared, showing a video feed.

Lacus let out a small gasp.

"While it is almost impossible that he was involved, we did a check and confirmed that Yamato was at STI's base when the attack occurred."

"How? It was supposed to be destroyed!" the Clyne heiress asked as she stared at the mobile suit inside the video. Even though the mobile suit was white in color save for some spots, even as it sported various modifications and weaponries, Lacus couldn't deny that what she saw was indeed Freedom.

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note ( 19 September 2008)**

1) What Lacus meant by 'a war didn't start because of a misunderstanding' have to be looked at from a different context. A simple misunderstanding will never cause a fight or example. For example, if you ended up in a foreign country whose language doesn't make sense, you wouldn't just exploded into rage and pick a fight, don't you. But rather, a fight (and war) will break out when you try to force someone to accept something (your power and authority) but the other person refused to do so.

2) I admit that the triple launch system is more complicated, complex and more costly to implement based on the concept alone. There's also an issue a mobile suit having to assume a prone position to launch. The thing is, unlike Archangel and Minerva which are basically space ships able to operate on Earth, Fefildae-ships, especially the Felinae-type are designed to operate on Earth but also able to operate in space as well. Hence, all aerodynamic factors present in our atmosphere have to be taken into consideration and generally, mobile suits launched in prone position or mobile armour would incur less drag compared to mobile suit the normal launch system. But the launch-ASAP approach is also applicable in space warfare.

3) In case you're wondering, the ship class in based on the cat family. Some may wonder why Falinae and Panthera are assigned to Earth-bound and space-bound ships respectively instead of the other way around. While that was what I did, later it struck me that a ship operating in space will require more mass because of the extra support, anti-radiation armor, etc. Although things are mostly weightless in space, they do have mass. Hence, space-bound ships are better equipped to handle space operation but as a result of that, they are slower. So, if Leo and Puma operates together, whether in space on Earth, Puma will be faster but Leo would be more resilient. Of course, Nemain doesn't belong to any of this category.

4) Thanks to Enchanter468 for allowing me to borrow his character for a cameo appearance in my story.

5) Well, while this story can be considered as a side story, I strive to make it as independent as possible to Fallen Angel. Please remind me if I stray from this path. :p


	5. Fallen Phoenix

Two years ago, somewhere near the debris belt of Junius Seven.

"_Warning, coolant level is at fifty three point two percent. Suggested action, deactivate Plume de Lune," Fallen's computer announced but she didn't pay attention to the warning. What was more important was for her the battle fortress power plants. _

_Then his voice resonated in her head. It was rather strange, since both of them no longer had any connection. She shook her head to clear it off his voice and continued with her action. A countdown time appeared on one of the screens._

_The computer had just indicated that it had almost computed a trajectory straight to SALVATION when one of those remote controlled mobile armour equipped with DRAGOONs descended upon her mobile suit. She was about to destroy it when to her consternation, everything suddenly became fast. Then the primary view was taken out. To her panic, she discovered that her faux APEX ability had switched off because her body was almost at its limit. But she had to reactivate it or otherwise, Kira would be in a greater danger and she didn't want that. _

_It was extremely hard to do so since she could barely keep her eyes open. At the same time, very small but audible voice inside her told her to take it easy and let herself fall into the much needed sleep that was slowly blanketing her. It was so easy to just let her eyes close…_

_Then her eyes opened as she heard him accusing her of betraying him again. At the same time, she could feel the world slowing down as her APEX reawakened against the limitation of her body. She knew that Kira wasn't the one who would accuse her that and it was just her imagination, but it had did its job of reminding her._

_As she cleared how the final obstacle that stood between her and SALVATION, the pilot reminded herself why she accepted her ability even though she knew that it would be to her detrimental. Even before she remembered him, she was fighting to create a better future. Yes, it was for the future, the future where her beloved Kira would live._

_Her mobile suit had a clear path towards her target._

"_Committing to Extreme Boost," she said as she pressed the boost buttons._

_She could almost feel the oxygen supply being disrupted as part of it was being redirected to the propulsion system. "It should be enough," she whispered as she felt the last shred of her consciousness slipping away. Her mobile suit would crash into the battle fortress and she would die, this time permanently. _

_It was then she heard him again. His voice was calling for her, this time with greater intensity and emotion. As if held by an invisible string, willed by his words, her hand slowly made its way to a red cymbal button. _

"_Ejection sequence activated," the computer reported monotonously when the button was pressed. _

_A panel on the left side of her mobile suit popped up and a spherical object was jettisoned._

_--a--  
_

Once again, Shinn found himself walking toward the monument even as the sun was just about to crease through the dark night, wondering why in the world he wasted his precious time coming to the place. But even as he asked the question, he already knew the answer to it: he wanted to go there because he wanted to remember _them_, as if he didn't go to the place, their memory would slip from his mind.

He was surprised to see that he wasn't the first one there. Standing few meters away from the monument was Cagalli, standing alone while holding a bouquet of flowers. Shinn looked around the area to see that none of the SPs were around, a very strange occurrence since very rarely a person as important as her was seen without any body guard. Deciding to remain inconspicuous, he hid himself behind a small bush.

Cagalli laid the bouquet on the monument, and took a step back. Being a Coordinator, Shinn could hear that she was saying something. However, the distance was too far for him to make out what was being said. After a few minutes of talking, she was finally done and bowed a little before leaving the place, leaving him as the only person in the park. Even then Shinn remained in his hideout, not moving until quite some time.

It came as a shock to him to see that she had visited the monument at such an early time of the day. Not only it was reckless, in his opinion as she did it alone, it was also unexpected for someone of her status.

He gazed at the bouquet. At least he got the answer to the question that had been playing in his mind all that time: he was wondering about the person who kept bringing the same kind of flower bouquets to the monuments. Kneeling to have a look at the bunch of flowers, he mentally cringed at the rather poor attempt at Ikebana; he had no doubt that a six-year old child could do a better job arranging the flowers. If his mother was still alive, Shinn was sure that she could teach the blonde representative a thing or two about flower arranging as his mother was a somewhat local expert on that field.

Criticism aside, he noticed that Cagalli had opted for the familiar western floriography rather than hanakotoba, the Japanese counterpart. He checked the flowers and identified some broom, red carnation, marigold, white clover, snowdrop, olive and wheat. It took him a moment to recall their respective meanings as he didn't really pay attention when his mother taught him about them, but in the end he was left with a sobering meaning.

Without fail, Cagalli had humbly apologized and was still grieving about what had happened. Yet, she promised to them, and hope at the same time that she would be do her best for ORB's peace and prosperity. The young man stared heavenward. No matter how many flowers planted to signify peace, regardless of how many bouquets were presented in remembrance, there would always others who would trample over them, destroying the promises hiding within their petals. Would he himself end up crushing the bouquet in front of him?

Shinn had no answer to that question.

* * *

"NO! NO! NO!" Terrence said. "Can't you see, Kira? You're doing it wrongly! You lack passion and finesse! Treat each one of them as a tender young rose ready to bloom."

"Hearing that coming from you sounds so wrong and conceited," a woman next to him remarked while rolling her eyes. "You didn't exactly follow the advice yourself last night... a stampede of wild rhinos would be gentler than you."

"Aww...," Terrence said to her while blushing. "You know both of us like it rough."

"Get a room you two!" someone else from far away shouted.

The STI's founder ignored the taunt and instead looked at Kira. "I told you before, the 'precious things' you're guiding in the simulation are not DRAGOONs but ELEANA!"

"Despite what you claim they are, they look and feel like DRAGOONs," Kira said defensively albeit politely. Sure, ELEANA system which stood for Emotive-Linked Enhanced Autonomy Network Assaulter suggested that the units could act independently but when he tried to guide them, they felt exactly like DRAGOONs, reacting to the directives from his brainwave.

"They are not. Unlike DRAGOONs, they're totally independent units capable of neutralizing targets on their own." Terrence said while walking toward the console next to the simulator. "You know, it's like comparing artificial dild..." He was stopped when Sammy smacked him. "Um... a tractor and a sports car."

"Then why do you need me to control them?"

"Guide, Kira, guide. I made sure to use the word correctly."

"Yes," Sammy interjected. "You must feel the Force around you: here. Between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship."

"Huh?" Kira quipped, puzzled.

"Just joking. Carry on."

Terrence shook his head and went to another simulator. "While I can just regurgitate the theory again and again, maybe it's better for me to give you a demonstration of how to use the system." After taking his seat and put on the display helmet, he continued, "Because my piloting sucks lemon, we wouldn't be having one-to-one match. Instead, I'll attack you using ELEANA and you try to defend using Super DRAGOONs. How many you're comfortable of controlling, given the current quantum control system?"

"Fourteen,"

"Fourteen it is. The performance and physic models are accurate?"

"Ninety eight point two percent."

"Good. Sammy, bump the Super DRAGOONs performance to six point seven percent."

Inside in his own cockpit, Kira raised his eyebrows. He couldn't see the point Terrence was trying to make but increasing the performance of Super DRAGOONs by that number would certainly increase the already large advantage he had.

"Done," Sammy announced.

"Good. Kira, I'll employ four units against your fourteen."

Kira saw the simulation started up as he found himself inside Strike Freedom's cockpit while facing a never-seen before mobile suit, probably a model design created for the simulation. That didn't explain why he felt that the model seem a tad familiar.

"Although this is only a simulation, I want you to treat it as a real thing."

Somehow, Kira couldn't shake the feeling that the other person didn't really like him that much to be fussing over such a small thing. "I will."

"You're also free to use the other weapons as well. Once the ELEANA units start moving toward your mobile suit, you're free to engage. Ready when you are."

"I'm ready."

"Okay... here I come." There was a small lull of silence. Terrence closed his eyes but his face was slowly contorting into one that was of rage. He finally opened his eyes, revealing the anger in them. "Kill him," he said softly, barely heard by Sammy who was standing next to his simulator. The mock battle ended scarcely fifteen seconds later, with all of Kira's Super DRAGOONs destroyed and one of the Terrence's units jutting out of his cockpit, having opened fire at almost point blank and then piercing through the puncture created by the shot.

Terrence's face was one of calm as he exited his simulator, contrasting the look of disbelief on other Coordinator. "You can have the rest of the day off," he said nonchalantly. "I know you have been working hard since this morning and thus deserved it."

Kira seemed as if he wanted to ask something but he stopped midway. "Thank you, Terrence."

Sammy watched him leaving the hangar. "It's only ten in the morning."

"What can I say?" Terrence said as a grin appeared on his face. "I always wanted to kick his ass and then say those words, you know, since they're cool sounding."

"Figures."

"Besides," he continued as he became serious, "I think he was probably a bit distracted seeing their flight patterns... he might have noticed the similarity either."

"Wait... their flight patterns? Are you telling me that you connect the simulation system to the..."

"Yup," he turned to regard the mobile suit assigned to Kira as its test pilot. "The Phoebe tech that we have now allows for a completely autonomous system to be built but such system, devoid of any emotion and instead rely on cold and hard logic can easily turn against its own allies. That's why it is mated to the pilot's own emotions so that they could work together."

"Sounds like the neural overclocker used on Fallen."

"Brings back the fond memories of that black mobile suit, right? Unlike the overclocker, the communication is mostly one way, though I had considered adding feedback. Doing that, however, might cause the pilot to be distracted whenever one of the units got destroyed."

"I still don't understand about ELEANA. Wouldn't the system be hampered by the pilot's emotions?"

"No, if the synchronization between the pilot and ELEANA is above seventy percent. In fact, rather than weakening the system, the emotions provide it with the unpredictability required to defeat even the most powerful Ultimate Coordinator. Well, we can always go for a slightly dumber system like the Mobile Doll system being developed by the Confederation and rely on quantity but that's not my cup of tea."

Sammy considered what he said. "The way you describe it, just now you used your anger on him."

"Of course, since anger is one of the most powerful emotions after all."

"So..." Sammy prodded. "What did you use to fuel your anger?"

"Well, I imagined him taking away one which is the most precious to me."

A blush appeared on Sammy's face. "Oh, can you tell me about that?" she prodded bashfully.

"Sure. I imagined him stomping on my vintage train set from the pre-Cosmic Era."

A second later, he was on the cold hard floor, trapped in a submission hold.

"Damn, you..." Sammy, her legs locking his neck in a scissors grip, said while applying pressure to one of his wrist while simultaneously pulling it toward her, ensuring that he couldn't escape.

The civilian Coordinator was couldn't match a trained soldier after all.

"I give! I give!" Terrence said while tapping his free hand. "I was just joking!"

Snorting but nevertheless reducing the pressure, she growled, "You better tell truth."

"Have I ever told you that you look sexy in that position?"

"Terrence..."

"Okay, okay. The truth is, I don't want to imagine you being k...," he stopped himself. "I can't even begin to imagine that," he whispered.

In shock, she released her hold, not expecting him to say such a romantic thing.

Despite that, he remained where he was. "So, I went for the distant second thing. I recalled the memory of seeing _her_ after she returned from Archangel in the second war, knowing that he was the cause of it."

It was an unforgettable sight to her too, seeing their mutual friend became insane. Terrence and their former captain seemed to know what was going on but didn't reveal anything.

"Hey, do you remember when we picked her up from that Frankenstein laboratory where they're experimenting on the Phoebe tech to bring dead people back to life?"

Sammy nodded. When they attacked the laboratory located on an isolated asteroid, they didn't know that it was conducting experiments on the Pandora Box technology, or 'Phoebe' tech; they thought that it was just one of LOGOS insane way of wasting its ill-gotten wealth. But it was there that they met her, Fllay Allster who was being trained to become an anti-Coordinator specialist. Sammy didn't know the real story behind the red-head's death but she did know that Flay died when the shuttle she was shot by ZAFT's Providence.

Formally being a member of Alliance special force trained to fight in space, she knew that there was a big chance that Fllay's shuttle didn't explode, at least like those depicted in the classical sci-fi films she watched. That was because most of the shuttles in the era used electric propulsion unlike their pre-Cosmic Era predecessor which moved using chemical propulsion. Because of that, an explosion, if any that resulted from shot probably wouldn't destroy everything.

Instead, the occupants would probably die because of the beam shot heated the air inside the shuttle to a scorching temperature, enough to stop their hearts from beating, or as a result of the loss of air, would die due to suffocation. Depending on the situation, it was possible that their bodies survived through the ordeal intact.

A thought suddenly occurred to her; what if there was more than one person resurrected using the same method? It was said that Mwu La Fllaga was also killed in the first war but lo and behold, he reappeared, wearing an ugly mask and commanding a Mirage Colloid-equipped ship.

"The guilt that she bore for using him in the first war was continually haunting her, pushing her to the brink of madness but it was kept in check by her will to make amends by protecting him, killing enemies where he couldn't all for the sake of wanting him to live. However, during the period where she ended up at Archangel, somehow that equilibrium was broken," Terrence continued.

"Even then, she sacrificed herself by crashing her mobile suit into Gilbert's battle fortress, in order to protect him."

"Yeah. Even then."

* * *

It took all of Shinn's willpower not to grab the hand that was on his shoulder and execute a judo move that would slam the owner of the hand's body on the hard concrete in front of him. His former drill sergeant would have chewed his hide, spit it, stomp on it for an hour for his slow response but accidentally injuring an innocent bystander would put him in a more dire problem. Slowly, he turned to look at the person, randomly going through various techniques that would either maim or apprehend the person.

"AH, I WAS RIGHT!" a chirpy woman said excitedly.

"You!"

The woman frowned. "GEEZ, BEING SO COLD TO ME EVEN AFTER THAT?"

The people passing beside the two of them began to slow down their pace, intrigued by what her comment.

"Well, yeah." Shinn said testily. "I didn't get your name."

"HOW COULD YOU, AFTER THE MOMENT WE HAD AT THE GRAVEYARD!"

Shinn cursed himself for being a Coordinator because it would have been easier to pretend not hearing what the people around the two of them were murmuring. He didn't have _that_ kind of fetish for example despite fulfilling his sister Mayu's request to become the Gothic-clad Vampire in her school's haunted house during the school festival.

Uncomfortable with the current atmosphere, he quickly grabbed the woman's hand and pulled the woman toward a secluded area. Even then he had to grit his teeth and ignore a snide remark that the two of them were going to do _it _in some deserted alley nearby.

Once they had cleared the place, Shinn turned toward the woman, scowling. "What the hell were you thinking, making such a weird comment?"

"I didn't make any weird comment, it's the truth, or are you not the man I met at the moment?"

Shinn put a hand through his hair in frustration. "True, but the way you're describing it made other people think that we did something kinky there!"

She put a hand under her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... you're right. But..."

"But what?"

"How how do you know that was what they were thinking...," her expression changed into an accusing one, "unless that's what you were thinking just now?"

"WHAT? NO!"

She closed the distance between the two of them. "Really?" she purred.

"YEA... NO! NO!"

Turning away, she pouted. "Seems like it's true that all the good ones are already taken..."

"I'M NOT GAY!"

"I didn't even say that. Geez, I can't believe you have such a bad prejudice against them! That is as bad as or even worse than the prejudice against Coordinators and Naturals"

Shinn was taken aback by what she said. "No, I didn't mean that," he deflated, "It's just that I'm tired of being accused of what I wasn't. I'm not against them or anything."

"Ryanna. Ryanna Kim...," she stopped as she had a faraway look on her, "wait, as a Korean, I'm supposed to use family name first... Kim Ryanna."

"Huh?"

The woman extended her hand, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Huh."

Two hours later, Shinn hard regretted being acquainted with her as he stared at his wallet mournfully. "You emptied my wallet!" he groused.

"Don't be a smart aleck," Ryanna said. "The wallet was already empty in the beginning. You used e-payments to settle the bills."

"Aw, you know what I meant."

The woman didn't pay attention to him and instead was looking at something in the distance. She then turned toward him and then smiled. "There."

"Huh?"

"I thought you said your name is Shinn? Whatever. Let's go!" she said as she pulled him along.

The two's antics was watched by another woman inside a cafe.

"Isn't that Asuka, my lady?" a masculine's voice caused her blood to become ice cold.

"Kisaka, you surprised me!"

"Forgive me if I startled you, my lady," the burly man said as he set a tray in front of her. "Poppins Club Special and Darjeeling tea as you ordered."

"Thanks," the woman said as she brought her gaze to her food.

Her bodyguard remain in his position, staring at the couple running toward a nearby cinema. Then his eyebrows furrowed.

* * *

Humankind was a race of chaos. Even when they pushed for the promised tomorrow, they clung stubbornly to their relics of past, not willing to trade their so-called 'stability' even though that was what kept them from reaching their potential. Even as they love their select few very much that they're willing to risk their lives, they killed others without even an ounce of pity. Maybe that was why Glenn, despite being accused of being a LOGOS member revealed the secret of Coordinators, for the sake of coordinating humans to a better future.

Then again, there was a possibility that Glenn revealed it at the behest and approval of his enigmatic leaders; it wouldn't be totally impossible for them to want to have better humans to serve them, just like it was natural to wish for a better breed of cattle that yields more milk and meat. In fact, Coordinators had proved their worth well, elevating the two wars to another level, enriching LOGOS's own bottomless coffers as a result.

If its existence wasn't found out in the second war, another war would probably have started by now. It had to be admitted though, even with its never-ending list of atrocities, LOGOS couldn't really be blamed for the second war as it wasn't the one who started it.

Even the organization, with its mass influence, had fallen prey to Gilbert's subtle manipulation. It was the dead ZAFT Chairman's tactic to entice the Phantom Pain under its control to steal the three prototypes in order to reveal its existence. However, Gilbert didn't count the existence of someone like Mwu La Fllaga, who had become an unwitting servant under Djibril's command, his memory altered to make him more subservient.

Despite Gilbert's setbacks, the war had played out according to his calculations, mostly. The Junius Seven drop had sapped Earth's offensive capabilities but the Alliance had attacked regardless of that only to be defeated again. That and with the power of fake Lacus had all but ensured PLANTs obedience to him.

Then Archangel and its stolen Freedom appeared to throw monkey wrench into his plan, destroying it bit by bit. To make it worse, a Eurasian-copy of that ship with its own faux Freedom had also appeared. Ironically, the gunmetal black mobile suit, even though an incomplete prototype was based on Freedom platform but was supposed to be equipped with Providence's weapons, had surpassed expectations even though it mounted weapons arguably more inferior than those carried by Freedom or Providence.

It was the pilot, not the weapon that would really make a difference.

The pilot had confirmed the existence of gene holders called as 'Alternate Path Evolutionary X-factor' or APEX, a mutation of human chromosomes that caused the holders to displays few trait similar to those possessed by Coordinators even to the extent of surpassing them altogether and could only be matched by holder of SEEDS. However the holders were prone to be influenced by their own emotions, normally anger and rage, causing them to be dangerous even to their friends and allies.

It wouldn't be surprising if mystical folklore of werewolves, vampires and other creatures of the night were inspired by them.

Then again, perhaps the rise of Coordinators was really an elaborate plan by LOGOS to counter their existence. Afraid that such a small group of supposedly superior beings would end its timeless reign, it introduced Coordinators as APEX's natural enemies while providing LOGOS with more resources to command and use.

There would be no finding out whether that was true or not as the last true leader of LOGOS, the one who held with him the organization's millennia of secrets, had died at the hand of one Rey Za Burrel, the man whose existence was an unwanted result of culmination of human's quest for a never-ending presence.

That was in the past, after all, he surmised. 'Now' was more important as it was the present that would colour the future.

"Sir, Freedom have returned," a young man in a crisp white uniform reported.

The man nodded, dismissing the other person and walked toward a screen. The white mobile suit was just docking. He could only see minor damages to the mobile suit; the mission was successful and Destiny had been destroyed. However, the slight damage also caused him to doubt that Shinn Asuka had been killed. But no matter, it would still help his plan to proceed as scheduled though it would have been good if he could take out at least one of the three aces that would eventually oppose him earlier on. The faux Freedom's pilot would have been a major threat as well but she had sacrificed herself in order to ensure the victory of the UNITY predecessors.

An admirable but worthless sacrificed indeed as all she did was paving the way for a loose coalition of countries whose asymmetrical views would eventually caused them to disagree with each other; wasn't it the same thing that caused all the wars?

"Excellent. I believed you have another report for me."

His subordinate swallowed a bit. "We have a little bit of a hiccup with the drone computer."

"What happened?"

"The unit crashed."

"That makes it five times this month. Damage?"

"We're currently running some diagnostics but it is estimated that at least sixty percent of the programming is lost this time."

The man had already anticipated the question that would be asked. "Proceed as usual."

"Sir, if I may suggest that we reformat the thing."

"No. There will be no reformatting unless the situation demands it. The more we reformat it, the more resistance it became to that method. We used a lot of our resources to acquire the unit so I want it to be fully utilized. Get our people to redouble their efforts in cracking it. Once we have it operational, not even the legendary Kira Yamato would be able to stop us."

"Understood," the younger man said as he left his leader alone with his thoughts.

A small smile appeared on the man's lips. With the power of the third Pandora Box in their hands, he and the Destineds would wage their holy crusade on the sickly world still recovering from wounds of deceit and greed. The world would be torn asunder once again and this time he would make sure that it would be reborn into the shape and mould it was supposed to be.

Unlike his 'father', he would succeed.

* * *

Leaning to the wall, the man risked a glance at the corner. As he expected, the camera was facing the other way. He looked at his watch. It was 11.59.39 p.m. Twenty seven seconds to go.

It was exactly 12.00.06 a.m. when he ran through the corridor, calculating each step that he took so that he wouldn't arrive to early or too late to the place. Even as another security camera swung in his direction, he continued running, knowing that the camera peripheral vision wouldn't be able to see him in time. A well-placed jump and he would be able to clear the field of laser detectors embedded on the wall and arrived at his destination, a reinforced door. Placing a cylindrical device on door, he connected it to a foldable keyboard and began typing some commands on it. Ten seconds later, the door yielded to the intrusion.

Inside the room was an elevator which reeked of a trap. Yet, he still entered it and was rewarded by a sight unexpected when the elevator's doors reopened.

He stepped out of the elevator into a cavernous hangar. A recently completed mobile suit endoskeleton caught his eyes. Going to the nearby terminal, he retrieved the data for the mobile suit. He was so caught up in reading the information that popped out that he finally broke out of his focus when he heard the sound of a gun being cocked and something hard was pressed against the back of his head.

"I wouldn't move if I am you," a man remarked while pushing the gun a bit forward. "From your muscles I know exactly when you will make an attempt so don't even think about it. Besides, I'm also a Coordinator."

"I didn't realize you are one. You seem..."

"Normal? Natural? Deception is always a valid strategy, as my former captain once said." The gun was withdrawn while the man clucked his tongue. "You're quite fortunate that your salary is quite small enough that it would have been troublesome to find another replacement pilot. However, that doesn't forgive the fact you are in a restricted area.. "So, Yamato, mind explaining about it?"

"I'm not spying for ORB." While he could have taken the chance to attack the man behind him, Kira knew that the other man's gesture wasn't simply one of foolishness. Instead, it was one of confidence and power; even if he defeated the man, there certainly would be no escape for him.

"You can't deny the proof that you have been snooping around."

Slowly, Kira turned toward the other man. "I simply wanted to know the whereabouts of Fallen's pilot."

"Ah, what is she to you?" Razak grinned when the other man shrunk a bit. "See? You have been asking all kinds of awkward questions but yet you can't even answer the same question everyone else had been asking you.

Kira mumbled something.

"Can't hear you," came the taunting reply.

"I LOVE HER!" Kira said.

Razak was taken aback by what he saw. Terrence had warned everyone of picking up any fight with a SEED holder as they possess reflex unmatched by everyone except APEX holders. That didn't really scare him as Kira Yamato, first and foremost, a human being, not an omnipotent being. "And we were not lying to you when we said that she was MIA. We only found Fallen's black box, well the backup that is, as it would be ejected in a different vector than her cockpit."

Kira glared at him while raising his hand to point at the uncompleted mobile suit.

The other man shrugged. "I'll even up the ante. The computer you twiddled with just now?" He threw a small device that was deftly caught by Kira. "Here the dongle that would allow you to access information above level 6." Walking away, he continued, "Terrence had to go somewhere else for three days, so he asked me to tell you that you can have the three days off."

"Thank you."

"Just forget about all that you read after this." As he left the place, his hands in pockets, Razak let out a small breath. "Let him think that he stumbled to the whole setup by accident and then gives him the access to the information. Instead of making him feel that we really need him, which we really do, we're going to make him beg to join us. A rather dastardly manipulative tactic by you," he said to a silhouetted leaning on the wall.

The person didn't answer.

"I know, I know, there's no need to make your point. He will join us, not because he was being tricked but rather because he needs our help too. Well, see you around."

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note.**

1. It's a side story. Even then, it will deviate a bit from Fallen Angel in some events, but not that much to be glaring. More on the technical or some smaller parts.

2.Although this story is still told from Shinn's perspective as opposed to Fallen Angel, it will also focus on Kira's personal quest. This chapter clears that up.

3.I'm right in the middle of doing my diploma, a perquisite for my work so I don't have that much of a free time. Funny, my bachelor seemed like a cakewalk compared to this one.


	6. The two guardians

"_This is Tango-One. Target sighted," a man calmly whispered to his earpiece as he looked through his binocular. _

"_Tango-Two here. I am at the position." _

"_Tango-Three in place," a sultry woman voice acknowledged._

"_Tango-Four, at the alternate route." _

_Tango-One gently put down the binocular and opened the long bag next to him. The bag opened to reveal a dissembled sniper rifle which he then took one by one to put together. He really didn't like the assignment. While in other assignments he could have staked out the spot for days before the target made his or her appearance, the current mark's habit was irregular, forcing his team to wait for the correct chance. After numerous false starts, they managed to correctly predict where he would be and made their wait there._

_As he snapped the last piece of the rifle, a silencer, Tango-One pondered why it was important for their mark to be taken out silently. Sure enough, using a silencer along with a subsonic ammunition would ensure that the origin of the shot couldn't be tracked immediately, but that wasn't really a concern to the team. After all, it was up to them to get out by themselves after the __target had been shot, wasn't it? _

_But, an assignment, while being a difficult one, was still an assignment. So, there's no helping it. Setting the gun at its designated place, Tango-One looked through the scope and saw the left side target's head. "On him."_

"_Couldn't because of a woman in front of him." Tango-Two reported.  
_

"_Got his back."_

_Tango-One's gloved finger moved to the trigger. "Give the signal when you're clear, Tango-Two."_

"_Wait... wait... bloody hell, there's a boy who dropped his ice cream in front of that chap." Tango-Two said bitterly._

"_He's kneeling down," Tango-Three reported. "Couldn't risk it."_

_Tango-One was about to issue an abort command when he saw the target giving the money to the boy while saying something. "Maintain your targeting." The boy nodded a few times and began to walk away. "Take the shot!" he hissed as his own trigger finger tightened. There was another slight hiss as his rifled fired and two seconds later, the target crumpled to the ground. _

"_Got the bloke in the chest. A rather good shot, if I must say," Tango-Two said smugly._

"_I shot him in the back but you don't hear me bragging about it," Tango-Three said scathingly. _

_Tango-One stood up, removing the scope from the gun and put it inside his clothes while a woman's scream echoed in the area. "If you have time to chatter, then get away before the police arrives."_

* * *

"_My name is Shinn Asuka. Age, 19 years old. I am... an idiot."_

"Are you asleep?" Cagalli shouted as a bullet ricocheted off the wall where the two of them were hiding. She then returned few shots, aiming at the shadows that were pursuing them. "Or don't you know how to use a gun?"

"_An idiot who doesn't know how to mind his own goddamned business." _"Just checking the number of bullets," Shinn said as he pushed a magazine into the butt of the gun he was holding, noting that he only had eighteen bullets. It couldn't be helped as the gun's original owner had used the rest trying to kill him and Cagalli.

"Didn't you learn how to count at school?" The representative managed to land a hit as evidenced by a body crumpling forward.

"Yes, and my teacher told me to never go to dark places alone, especially if I'm a leader of a country." Shinn grimaced as he narrowly avoided a bullet through his head. "Especially if I am a whiny and prissy country leader that everybody loves to hate."

"Just shut up and keep shooting!"

_Twenty minutes prior, _

_"Come out, whoever you are!" Cagalli said with a tight voice, glancing to her left and right._

_"Geez, there's no need to shout. I was standing behind you the whole five minutes," Shinn said as he moved forward and stopped next to her._

_"You! What are you doing here?"_

_"Same thing you're doing," he replied while kneeling to rearrange some of the flowers. "By the way, a mutt could do a better job with its mouth than you did."_

_"Well, excuse me for being too busy to learn the correct way..."_

_"But I have to say that I'm surprised that you're able to get such a difficult message right. It would have taken my mother's students few classes to even begin conveying a basic message," Shinn remarked as he put his palms together for praying._

_Cagalli didn't say anything but put a hand on her cheek that became warm despite the frigid morning cold._

_"You know..." Shinn wondered whether complimenting her further would be out of character for him._

_However, he didn't have to dwell on it as his instinct took over and pushed Cagalli out of the way._

_"What are you doin..." Cagalli's voice was drowned by a gun fire as a bullet hit the pavement in front of where she was standing._

_"Someone you know?" Shinn asked as he scrambled toward a nearby statue for cover._

_"Are you stupid or what?" she retorted as she moved next to him. "He's firing at me!"_

_"That's why I asked the question."_

Even after twenty minutes, the two of them were still being pinned down. The only thing that had changed was that Shinn managed to acquire a gun from an attacked who got in too close to be shot by Cagalli.

"You know," Cagalli said amidst heavy breathing, "every time I meet you there's always some trouble cropping up."

"Took the words right of my mouth," Shinn replied as he risked a look. He saw a silhouette and fired at it. A body fell to the ground. However, before he could rejoice, another gunman had taken the opportunity to flank them from the left side.

The attacked couldn't perform his deed as his body was riddled with numerous rifle rounds.

Search lights illuminated the area. "THIS IS THE POLICE! WE HAVE THE AREA SURROUNDED. YOU ARE TO SURRENDER PEACEFULLY OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCE."

Both Cagalli and Shinn remained at their place as they were not sure how many attackers remained. Few more gun exchanges were heard before Kisaka's voice was heard. "WE'VE TAKEN CARE ALL OF THEM, LADY CAGALLI. PLEASE REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE WHILE WE COME TO GET YOU."

Seconds later a squad of SWAT surrounded their place, warily looking around with their guns at ready. Once their leader was satisfied, he gave a signal and both Shinn and Cagalli made their way to a barricaded area, with the team around the two of them. Once they were past the barricaded area, they saw that Kisaka was indeed waiting for them.

"Are you all right, Lady Cagalli?" he asked.

"I am."

The man breathed easier. "I'm relieved to hear that. I don't want sound annoying but you..."

"You don't have to rub it in, Kisaka. I know that it's my fault. I promise not to cause problems in the future." Her remark was met by dubious looks from the two men. "I really promise."

Satisfied with her answer, Kisaka turned toward Shinn, "And why are you here, Asuka?"

"Just wandering around, getting myself into trouble as usual."

"I see," the other man said as he nodded to a nearby security officer. The officer escorted Cagalli who was strangely subdued into a nearby car. "I hope you understand that whatever happened here is a secret?"

"Of course. What do you take me for? So, mind explaining to me about why the whole battalion is here?" The comment was an exaggeration but he could see that the guards for Cagalli was more than doubled the usual amount.

Kisaka didn't even say anything until the car sped off. Then the man's expression changed into one of tiredness, showing his age. "We just found out that Kira Yamato had been assassinated."

To Shinn, the words seemed so ethereally unreal that he would gladly dismiss it as a joke even though Kisaka wasn't one do such thing. He tried hard to find any sign of deception on the other man but after a full minute had passed, he couldn't find any. "You're kidding... right?" he asked testily.

"No," came the short, grave answer.

"But Attha..."

"Even as we speak, she was being briefed on it."

"But... but how? He's so damn good!"

"Multiple snipers, each one targeting his vital organs. He died instantly."

Shinn grabbed on Kisaka's shirt but the stoic man didn't move. "How could it happen? He's the damned Ultimate Coordinator, isn't he? They shouldn't have gotten him!" Lowering his head and looking to the side, he said softly, "I should know as I have tried to kill him a few times."

"He is still a human being, Asuka." The older man looked at the direction where Cagalli's car had gone. "And so is Lady Attha."

* * *

He expected the crowd be more and thus was disappointed. What he saw didn't help any. "She could at least show some emotions." Shinn groused. "And stay a bit longer. Her brother's body was in that coffin for heaven's sake."

A slap on his back nearly got him mouthing some dirt.

"Kid, you should learn more about politics and real life," came the gruff comment from Murdoch.

"What? I said the fact."

Taking a spot beside him, the older man sighed. "Great. Last time I have a snivelling brat who thinks that he could do everything and know I have a snot-nosed brat who thinks that he know everything." He gestured toward the coffin. "Maybe you could have been buddies."

"Maybe not..." Shinn replied as the scene in Berlin replayed in his mind.

Murdoch thumbed in a direction and the two began walking, leaving the graveyard. "Heard about what happened in the first war," he said.

Shinn felt his heard constricted at the reference to his family's deaths. "I could still see their bodies in my nightmares sometimes." He admitted.

"Not to disrespect or anything, but you know what's worse than that?"

"No."

"Not being able to show your emotions."

"I don't get it."

The older man sighed. "Not many people really know about the two being siblings. Well, Cagalli wanted to announce to the world about that, but Kira managed to convince her not to because it would create unnecessary complication. If he was known to be her brother, the critics would have a field day regarding his appointment as ORB's general in the Second War."

"I see..." Then something occurred to him. "You seemed to know Yamato very well."

Murdoch thumbed a nearby cafe. Over a rather expensive brunch, courtesy of a reluctant Shinn, he recalled Kira's transformation from a meek college student into a mobile suit ace whose prowess was well known in the first and second war. "But in the end it was for naught. He fought to protect but ended up being protected."

"Lacus."

The statement was unexpected. "Ye... yeah, Lacus."

* * *

"Honestly speaking, I expected to see the rather 'in'famous Barzhakov here, not you," Shiho Hahnenfuss remarked as she put her tablet computer on the table.

"Well, I expected him to be here instead of me as well." Ivanov, the former Eurasian-Atlantic Confederation's commander didn't exactly jump at the chance to become UNITY's Air Force general. "Don't take this wrongly, but you're not exactly whom I expected either. Last time I checked, there's a long line of people ahead of you, all with as good as if not better records than you."

"Not many of them survived the security purge." After the second war, there was demand from the still recovering PLANTs administration to remove undercover dissidents as well as Durandal and Patrick Zala's sympathizers from ZAFT. The process was arduous and long but was achieved in the end, along with the implementation of a better internal security mechanism. "The rest had to fill the vacuum in the administration."

"That sounds as if this post isn't popular, which explains why you're being sent," the head of I-9, UNITY's intelligence arm commented.

Shiho glared at him. "Oh, I still wonder about the rest of the 'I's that haven't been covered. Insubordination? Insurgency? Irresponsible perhaps?

Wang Zhu Min, the navy admiral cleared his throat. "Since the Space Marshall is here let's get this meeting underway," he said, his words as the current Joint Chief of Staff held a lot of weight behind them. After everyone was seated, he turned to the army general, "Marwan?"

Marwan pressed a button and a translucent screen came down behind him. "I've compiled the four," he stopped as he gave a nod to the I-9's chief, "five branches' information. First, let's begin with the bad news,"

"It should be the bad olds or bad currents," the I-9 chief said.

"Working with LOGOS hasn't dulled your sense of humour, it seems," Shiho replied.

"Perhaps you can fraternize later," Marwan said to the embarrassment of the two. "Well, one wouldn't survive it I'm sure. Anyway, all of us are aware about the fake Freedom running around and attacking our bases on Earthsphere." A video of a White Freedom was shown. "So far the attacks are limited to skirmishes and because of that there's a high probability that the attacks are for propaganda purposes."

"Propaganda purposes?" Shiho intoned. "I-9's conclusion?"

"Marwan's actually though we provided most of the infos."

"Why propaganda?" Wang Zhu Min asked.

A picture of Kira Yamato appeared on the lower bottom of the screen. "Freedom, due to Yamato's actions in the two wars, had become a symbol of peace and freedom to a large portion of Earthsphere population," Marwan said. "Mention about Berlin and everyone will remember that it was Freedom that stabbed the Destroy. The nuclear attack on PLANTs at the end of the first war? It's there as well. Now, remember that Lady Cagalli was almost assassinated a few days ago."

Shiho's eyes widened as everything clicked together. "If the influential world leaders are being assassinated one by one, and Freedom is seen fighting against us, it would be seen that UNITY is trying to take control of the whole world."

"That also explains why they had Strike Freedom taken out," Ivanov observed. "Maybe that also explains why the fake Freedom is totally white. Angelic, perhaps."

"Wait..." the young Space Marshall asked, "there's more to this meeting right?"

"I'm getting to it," Marwan said as the screen flashed a grey mobile suit.

"I already know about 'Grey Moth'."

"Yes, but you probably haven't seen it in action, not at least as what you're about to see."

As the video was played, Shiho's eyes slowly widened. At a scene where the 'Grey Moth' slashed a Windam's limbs, she let out a name, "Kira Yamato."

"Indeed. But during at the times of the attack, he's at the STI's base. In fact, he rarely leaves that place."

"But the way the mobile suit fights... it's so similar that it's uncanny and unbelievable!"

"While I agree with you, you miss something."

"Which is?"

"You were so captivated by what you saw that you didn't notice the subtle difference between the Grey Moth's and Yamato's fighting style," Ivanov remarked. "Grey Moth is only similar to Yamato fighting style own at the end of the first war. Grey Moth fights to incapacitate. The DOM-like mobile suit that appeared a few times in the video would be the one that deal the killing blow to the defeated mobile suits."

A thought crossed Shiho's mind. "They have a fake Freedom and a fake Kira. I wonder why they don't just put the fake Kira into the fake Freedom. That would cause the propaganda to be even better, right?" The looks she was getting from the three men told her that they haven't consider about that.

"An astute observation from Miss Hahnenfuss," Wang Zhu Min said, "We will have to consider that fact. However, now we have to consider about the threats?"

"We'll mobilize the primary element of UNGARD," Ivanov said.

"On the part of the intelligence element, we have enlisted our first ace," I-9 head said. "Of course, it's none other than Kira Yamato."

"You people were behind the assassination?" Shiho asked. "Did you realize what you had done." Although she couldn't say it out loud, she was thinking about the effect on Lacus and Cagalli.

"Well, the Council, including Lacus if you're wondering, had approved it. But the princess... Well, that was a private request from Kira."

Shiho leaned back on her seat, sighing disappointedly." I see." Kira would have a very good reason for hiding the circumstances of his death from his own sister.

"How did you manage to convince him to join you?" Ivanov asked. "We offered a lot of things to but he wouldn't."

"The same method how we get him to join our subsidiary STI: reverse psychology. So unlike those lucrative 'benefits' you're offering so that he will join you, we basically told him that we'll have him jump through hoops before we even consider him."

"But surely you have something that he wants or otherwise he wouldn't have considered it," Marwan said.

"We do have two things that he wants. Of course they cannot be replicated so any attempts to pinch him from us will be useless."

Ivanov scoffed. "I can almost see it now: The hero's wingman, Kuro Takato found out that he had a clone working for the Zeon Alliance."

"Hm... interesting. I'll consider that idea for the third book which is planned to be published in two years' time. Don't expect any royalty for that idea from me though."

* * *

To the people working under him, Enishi Miyamoto was without a doubt, a Cosmic Era samurai. Having a very high standard of principle that probably rivalled Bushido, it would come as a shock to someone who knew him to find out that he was working for UNGARD's Intelligence Element. However, the ex-ORB officer joined it because he recognized of winning the war before it even started. Still, he followed the rules most of the time, balking at any use of less morally right methods of doing things.

That caused him to be called as 'Mr. Stuffy' by his subordinates behind his back. He didn't find out though which was why he was perplexed to receive a large stuffed toy for his birthday the week before.

He thought that the ship's crew was getting sentimental.

"Sir, target sighted." Malik announced from his console.

"Launch all mobile suits." Enishi.

"Moving Vanguard to the left catapult."

"Who would have thought that I-9's chief convinced Yamato to join us,"

"Don't you know that Yamato served under him in the first war?" Thames, which was at the helm asked.

"Really? I wondered how his description of Yamato in his book is a spot on." Malik uttered. "Vanguard, on the left catapult, Buster-Wing on the right." A bar on the screen showed that the linear catapults were being charged at a rapid rate.

"All right people, please focus on our mission,"

Everyone clammed up but Thames made a squeezing motion, a signal to those who knew it that Enishi was in his 'stuffy' mood.

"Red-dawn, Pizzabox, you're cleared for launch," Malik said while transferring the catapult control to the mobile suits. Three seconds later the mobile suit launched out of the ship followed by a Windam customised for long range attack. He looked up from his console. "Does anyone know why Mr. Yamato chose Red-dawn as his call sign?"

Thames shrugged. "Well, probably he wants to follow some tradition. In the second war, one of our ace pilots went by the call sign 'Calm-autumn'. Well, at least their call-signs are pretty normal compared to Pizzabox. Why in the hell Pizzabox?"

The CIC operator grinned. "You didn't see him sweep clean the whole the pizza pie. The nickname was from Sergeant Giress who do the records."

"All right, enough chit-chat. We have work to do. Honestly, resorting to piracy. I can't imagine the future for UNITY for having to resort to this."

There was another squeezing hand signal from Thames.

The mission was so highly top secret that only the UNITY Security Council would know about it. Nemain, along with her complement of mobile suits would intercept a relief convoy. While such action would cause an uproar in the international community, the interception was very important. The convoy belonged to the yet-unnamed faction sympathetic to Gilbert Durandal; some said that it was behind the attempt to rekindle Coordinators-Naturals hatred at the end of the second war.

The place that the convoy was heading was a hot spot torn by infighting between various local warlords. While the gesture seemed noble, there were proofs that the faction had incited the war. It was rather obvious the reason behind the move. The war would sap a lot of UNITY's strength as it would need to send and maintain peacekeeping force there. At the same time, by sending the reliefs, the faction would wage a psychological war by winning people's trust in it, trust that was undeserved in the first place.

Once support had been achieved, the faction would probably establish a base at the place and it would be difficult for UNITY to dislodge it without losing morally. Hence, an intercept mission had been authorised whereby the convoy be captured, failing which it would be destroyed. That would give enough time for UNITY to organise its own relief programme that would help to quell the insurgency there.

Enishi was more than surprised when Kira Yamato didn't even object to the mission during the briefing; it was expected that the man would suggest the convoy be given the time to surrender. Perhaps the man had truly changed as they said.

"The battle had begun. Vanguard is taking out the main thrusters."

* * *

Inside his cockpit, Kira calmly pressed the trigger once the firing solution had been achieved. A beam shot tore through one of the transports' main propulsion, effectively impeding its movements. The ship would be able to move, yes, but at a speed that made escape unfeasible. While common battlefield courtesy would have been to offer the convoy the chance to surrender first, he knew that the convoy's would use that chance to stall while its reinforcements came. Kira suspected that the reinforcements employ stealth measures as it was improbable for a convoy that large to be unprotected.

"Nemain employing chaff field," Pizzabox, his wingman reported. Containing numerous strips of metals, the chaff was primarily used to foil radar as well as radar-guided missiles. However, in space where there was virtually zero gravity, it was found that by firing multiple chaffs to envelope a stationery ship, a field would be created that could easily absorb any beam shots while countering any missiles. While it was would not protect the ship against any positron-based attack, the protection was enough to ward off any attack by ships employing Mirage-Colloid.

"Tally-ho!" another mobile suit under his command crippled a transport.

"How about our own transports?" Kira asked Malik.

"500 kliks behind us, same vector as Nemain."

"Security?"

"The AWACS are sweeping the place but it is believed that any hostile would be converging to our position once the attack is under way."

"Good, we'll minimise..." Kira had to cut short his transmission as Vanguard narrowly evaded a beam shot. He made a gesture and his viewpoint change to a spot above him. A white mobile suit was slowly melding into view as the Mirage Colloid that camouflaged it wore off. "White Freedom."

The newcomer unleashed its DRAGOONs and Kira's strike team found itself being suppressed by that single mobile suit. At the same time, more and more hostile began appearing as their Mirage-Colloid cloaking wore off.

As Kira destroyed on the DRAGOONs, he issued the order. "Pizzabox, you and the rest of our team take other mobile suits. I'll handle the white one."

"Okay."

As his wingmate retreated to regroup with others, Kira smiled ruefully. "Even as I say that, it's not like I can handle it." The white Freedom was clearly more superior to Strike Freedom that it was only due to Kira's better piloting that he could keep up with it despite piloting a bulkier mobile suit. But the enemy pilot seemed to have adjusted to the situation as Kira was slowly being cornered.

Vanguard would have been destroyed by beam shot from a DRAGOON behind it but Vanguard's right hand moved to block the shot automatically.

"What the..." Kira questioned before everything became white.

* * *

"Captain, Vanguard's status is changing," Malik reported in alarm.

"Changing its status? Who initiated the change?"

The CIC Operator's hands were all over his console. "I'm not sure who but the report was submitted by someone named Eleana."

"ELEANA... For the system to override the status... Inform our force that the security had degenerated from level 4 to level 3."

* * *

Kira looked around him to see that there was nothingness. "Where am I?"

"_You're still in your mobile suit,"_ a familiar woman's voice from behind him answered. _"But here, the quantum of our communication is so fast that a second outside is equivalent to five minutes here. Even the conversation that we're having here isn't real as it's merely information being imprinted into your thoughts." _

Turning around, his expression changed into a surprise. "Fllay!" he uttered at the sight of the red-head woman that he so cherished.

The woman smiled but shook her head. _"Yes, I am her but at the same time, I'm not the one you're searching. Your Fllay isn't here."_

"What do you mean? You are Fllay!"

"_No, I'm not. I'm ELEANA, an artificial matrix fashioned after her by LOGOS in a bid to enable it to create vast pool of pilots skilled enough to kill Coordinators. Even as a part was taken from her to create me, that part had been cleansed free of memory and emotions."_

'Fllay' pulled Kira in for a soft kiss.

"_But traces of them still lingers... and because of them I wouldn't let you die."_

A second later, Kira found himself back in the cockpit as the main screen showed the changes in the mobile suit that were occurring. Gone were the armour plates as a smaller and slender mobile suit emerged from what used to be Vanguard. Even the blasters themselves weren't spared as four drones spread their wings and flew away from what used to be their prisons, joining another three that were attached to Vanguard's thighs and back.

"Guardian," he uttered as he read the name on the screen.

"_Yes, Guardian is this mobile suit's real name," _ELEANA said, confirming that whatever transpired moments before wasn't a figment of his imagination.

It finally made sense to him why Vanguard was too bulky. What he thought were armours were actually the ELEANA drones, making up almost a third of the mobile suit's weight. With all of them disconnected, he could feel the difference in the handling. He noted a nearby drone and tried to will it to move.

"_Don't try to control me._" The drone seemed to reply to his attempt.

"_Guide us with your emotions." _Multiple Fllay's voices said at the same time.

The drones seemed to have their own consciousness, he decided.

"_We are, though we're connected to the main ELEANA system onboard Guardian and act in tandem with each other," _the drone furthest to him replied.

Kira didn't question why they seemed to be reading his thoughts and why he knew which one he was communicating; he had that knowledge on the instinctual level. But he wasn't sure how to guide them.

"_Don't think much about it,"_ the main unit said to him_. "Just think of how much you want to protect your friends. Your feelings will reach and guide us." _

"Protect..." The enemy was utilising a lot of mobile suits; their number were a bit too much to handle despite his team's technological advantage. He closed his eyes and summoned the inner resolve. Opening his eyes to reveal that he had activated his SEEDs, he uttered the command for the ELEANA units to engage their enemies, "Attack all of them."

Like shooting stars, the ELEANAs sped off to engage their enemy, four providing support to his team while the remaining three helped him in fighting Freedom. Kira watched in awe as they darted in and out of the battle; their movements were as if they were alive.

"_Let's go, Kira," _fourth unit urged as it fend off a DRAGOON attack. It would have managed to destroy the hostile unit is not for another DRAGOON forcing it to retreat.

"Yes," he said as Guardian drew its Saitenwaffe anti-ship swords before boosting toward Freedom.

Both units traded attack few times. Kira could see how close the White Freedom was to Strike Freedom. Of course, the unit was an upgraded version but the way it moved, the weapons it mounted, it was as if the designers of Strike Freedom were also the ones who designed the counterfeit.

Then it struck him. There must be a link somewhere. Resolving to find out what happened later, he concentrated on the fight.

"Red Dawn, a mobile suit is moving in your direction," Pizzabox reported.

"What kind?"

"The Hijacker DOM."

There was a static noise, causing Kira to worry about the status of his ELEANA units.

"_It's all right. The mobile suit was attempting to hijack us by impersonating the quantum communication..." _the second unit said.

"_However, we're not like DRAGOONs. We can discern the person communicating with us,"_ first unit said as it positioned itself right in front of the mobile suit's cockpit and opened fire point blank. _"Even if we lost any connection with you we still know what to do."_

"Thank you," Kira said gratefully as Guardian continued attacking Freedom. The latter tried to aim one of its rifles at his mobile suit but he twisted Guardian out of the way before slicing the barrel off. Undaunted, Freedom tried to use its hip mounted beam cannons but before it could deploy them, Guardian moved away only to deliver a twin kick on them. The attack was successful in damaging the cannons that they became jammed halfway.

"The mobile suit is strong," Kira said Guardian evaded the beam from Freedom's chest cannon even as one of his ELEANA units destroyed another DRAGOON in the background. "However, they forgotten that it is the pilot that makes the difference," he said, noting that his opponent had lost his cool judging from Freedom's erratic attacks. It was the time to end the fight. Guardian began weaving through the attacks, slowly making its way to Freedom.

"_Watch out!" _the fifth unit warned.

Then there was an explosion behind him as he felt a wave of pain crashing into him as Fllay's scream echoed in his mind. There was a sneak attack from behind and the fifth unit had sacrificed itself to block the attack.

"_Sorry, Kira but the backlash you felt just now was the side effect of our connection," _ELEANA's primary unit apologised.

"It's okay," Kira said despite feeling that a small part of him died with the fifth unit. He shifted his attention to the source of the attack.

He came face to face with the faceless grey mobile suit.

The communication chirped. "A transmission?"

Kira Yamato gasped as he came to face with himself.

"**Even after all those lives that had been lost in the two wars, all of you still wage war. This is truly unfortunate"**

**

* * *

**

1

* * *

**Author's note (25 December 2008)**

1. Me-ri Kuri-tsu-mass. Soushite yoi kotoshi o. Merry Christmass and a Happy New Year.

2. It's been a while since I updated. Sorry, I don't really have the time nor the access to the internet so I've been unable to visit Fanfiction for quite some time. Even today I only have a day off as I need to return to the place where I'm doing my course before six. Yup, a bit disciplined but that's the way it is. So I would like to apologize for being unable to reply to any reviews for a considerable time.

3. Guardian, as I intended even from Fallen Angel, has a smaller number of DRAGOON type units as opposed to Strike Freedom. However, the technology they employed, as evident from this chapter, is on a different level altogether. I always want to include the weapons as parts of the story, contributing to it instead of writing, "Super Strike Freedom have hundred micro DRAGOONs" and leave it at that.


	7. The grey shadow

"Wha..." Kira stuttered as he watched his own face on the screen.

"_Kira..." _ELEANA called in alarm. _"We're detecting multiple brainwave patterns from the enemy mobile suit and its causing the quantum interface to resonate out of control..."_

A second later, Kira found himself floating in space. Instead of the flight suit he was wearing, he wore armour that covered most of his body. On his left hand, he had a translucent shield while his right hand held a rifle. "What happened?" Perhaps it was similar to what he experienced few minutes before. No, he decided. It was not the same. When he met Fll... no, ELEANA, he was in some place he couldn't describe; at present he was in space. He looked at his hands. There was a slight static and he could see Guardian's hands underneath them. _'What the hell?'_

"**So it was true that you have joined UNITY," **The other Kira said, interrupting his thought. He also wore some armour albeit thinner than his. A beam rifle was in his right hand; the same one that had killed Unit Five.

"Who the hell are you?"

"**The shadow that you cast," Kira, **his doppelganger answered as he stored his rifle behind him. He then activated a beam sabre and moved in to attack.

Kira had to raise his left hand to block the beam sabre attack. "Shadow that I cast?"

"**Yes. Just as you were born into light representing the greatest wish, I was born in the darkness from the greatest resistance. While you're a realization of a dream, I am but a phantasm of the reality. You see everything around you but I am seen by them." **Sparks flew as the beam sabre made contact with the shield again and again; its owner was trying to overwhelm Kira.

"I don't understand." Kira let go of his rifle and reached for his own beam sabre. Activating it, he pushed his opponent away.

"**I am you but yet I'm not." **The other person thought for a moment before continuing. **"If you are the most perfect human being, then I can be described as the perfect you."**

Still not understanding what was being said, Kira decided to focus on the matter at hand. "Why do you do all these?"

**Kira **didn't even blink. **"Asking the question even though you know the answer..." **He smiled wistfully. **"Whatever. I fight in hope that I can somehow help to bring the war to a faster end."**

"The war? It is you people who will cause the war to break out!"

"**You're thinking that the world is at peace? If it is peaceful, then the civil war wouldn't have broke out, would it?" **The grey mobile suit he was piloting moved to between Guardian and Freedom to protect the latter from being attacked.

"It was due to your intervention!"

"**No. A simple intrusion shouldn't have caused them to go to war. They could have talked it over rather than reaching for their weapons without any regards to other life."**

"Still, the negotiation would have soothed their relationship if not for your intrusion."

"**Maybe." Kira **conceded. **"Then again, maybe not. What UNITY is doing now is akin to putting bandage on an open injury." **He renewed his attacks, this time with more vigour. **"And the longer this drags on, more people will suffer. Hence, we the Destineds will take care of the matter, whether you like it or not. We will remove the sole source of conflict in this world: ambition."**

As he deflected the attacks, Kira said, "You're trying to enslave humankind!" He counterattacked, nearly decapitating the other person.

"**It's already happened, hasn't it? Humankind is already enslaved by desires and ambitions which caused them anguish, jealousy and all those negative emotions. Destiny Plan will provide the justice everyone hungers for." **

"YOU ARE INSANE!" This time, his attack managed to cut off **Kira's **left hand.

**Kira **kicked him and used the resulting momentum to put the distance between the two of them. **"Thinking that you will have everlasting peace by pursuing the current path, you're the crazy one, Kira Yamato."** He suddenly whisked out his beam rifle and fired off in a direction.

An ELEANA rolled out of the way but had its wing singed a little bit by the shot.

"Are you all right?" Kira asked the unit.

"Yes. Don't worry about me; together we will overwhelm him."

"Don't interfere!" he commanded.

"_But..." _the main unit protested.

"Please."

"_Very well." _All ELEANA units moved away.

**Kira **looked at one of the units. **"Even in this form, you're still just back stabbing bitch, aren't you, Fllay?"**

There was a long moment of silence as both Kira and ELEANA didn't know how to respond to the comment.

"**If you think that you can fool me by not saying anything, then you're mistaken. I know about all of you earlier on. Why do you think I targeted you, Kira, despite my so-called reputation of not killing my enemies?"**

"Leave them alone!" Kira growled. "They have nothing to do with this."

"**You're wrong. They have everything to do with this; with you and me. Know that I will des... no, kill all of them, every one of them." **

"Damn you..."

There was a flicker on **Kira's** body. He ignored it but when a few more started appearing all over his body along with a small distortion on his hand, he clucked his tongue in annoyance. **"I guess it's not stable after all."**

Kira saw a translucent curtain appearing near his adversary's left side. Then the latter floated slowly behind the curtain, slowly disappearing from his sight.

"**Well have to continue this later and at that time, know that I will defeat you." **

Kira remained where he was even though his instincts were telling him to give chase.

"_Kira, we don't know why but just now, we detected intense negative emotion... hate in the enemy's pilot."_

"I wonder why."

"_We're sorry, but we can't answer that. We also would like to apologize not detecting his presence on time. Even though the mobile suit could be cloaked just before it fired, there's no way such a formidable opponent appear without us noticing."_

"So there's no way to find out about it?"

"_We have been able to track his brainwaves, so in the future it would not happen again... However... Kira, I don't how to put it but both of your brainwaves are similar."_ ELEANA told him.

Kira digested the information.

ELEANA seemed to pick up what he was wondering and decided to answer. _"No, he's not really you and you're not him." _She stopped for moment before continuing. _"As computers we shouldn't say something like this but we're quite sure of that fact." _

It was then he noticed that he wasn't floating in the space anymore but instead was seated in his cockpit. That discovery didn't really seem important compared to what he was feeling at that time, the feeling of terror. It wasn't because he was afraid of fighting against his doppelganger but he was scared of something else; something that seemed familiar but yet he couldn't put a name on it.

* * *

"And, when it comes to that, you can call me 'god'." Murdoch said while eyeing a hot dog stand across the street.

"Gee, always so modest aren't you?" Shinn said as he tried to balance the numerous boxes he was holding. Meanwhile a boy was pulling the leash to his dog to prevent it from pouncing on the former ZAFT pilot, probably to get to a pound of meat that was in one of the boxes. "And ever so helpful."

"After you crashed Skyknight on the desert dune and jammed its joints with sand, did you work to repair it, kid?"

"Shinn, my name is Shinn."

"You didn't." Murdoch continued, ignoring what Shinn said. "In fact, you don't do the maintenance at all. I wonder if you know where a quartz oscillator is located in your mobile suit."

"I don't."

That's my point. I do all the works for you. So, you shouldn't whine when I ask you to help me to get some maintenance parts."

Shinn sighed. "I don't know spaghetti, meatballs and tomatoes are used to power up mobile suits," he remarked sarcastically.

"No. But they will be used to power up the chief engineer which in turn will repair the mobile suit piloted by a noisy kid."

The answer caused Shinn's thought to stray to something that he had always wanted to ask Murdoch. "You were part of the Atlantic in the first war, weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm wondering... well,"

"Out with it, kid."

"How come you don't seem to hate..."

"Hate Coordinators just like Blue Cosmos, since it had infiltrated our chain of command?"

Shinn nodded.

"It's not easy to hate if you really understand the difference."

"Understand?"

"Yup. Let's say you have a normal car and I have a race car. Should you be jealous of me?"

"Of course."

Murdoch turned away muttering softly something about Coordinators do have perfect idiots every now and then. He then regarded Shinn again. "The answer is you shouldn't, well, not in most cases."

"Why?"

"Because even though race car is normally faster than normal care, there are some advantages of using a normal car. For example, energy consumption. To go buy grocery, you don't need a car that gulped energy like there's no tomorrow. Besides, even race cars have to stop at red light. Same thing with Naturals and Coordinators thing. Being a Coordinator is cool, I guess, but there's some situation where it will be quite disadvantageous such as when you're trapped somewhere without air circulation or have to go without food for quite some time."

"Because I have higher metabolism rate."

"Right. Also, even though you can become learn at a faster rate and become experts at many fields, pretty soon, you'll hit that brick wall of physical limitation. Tell me, how many engineers are needed to repair Strike or Destiny?"

"At least five."

"Five people for Strike Freedom too. You know why? It's because human beings, Coordinators and Naturals, only have two hands," Murdoch finished while grinning.

"Oh." Shinn said before becoming silent.

"By the way, be at my house for dinner at seven p.m."

The Coordinator couldn't help but smiled appreciatively. "Thanks." The next thing he knew, both he and Murdoch was on the ground as the boxes scattered around them. "What happened?" he croaked as he rubbed his aching head. He settled on a pair of feet in his view and raised his head indignantly. "Fuck you," he cursed.

He barely raised his hand to block the kick to his head.

"Using such language in the presence of lady is really unbecoming of you," the woman in front of him said mirthfully.

Shinn squinted his eyes, willing that the person he was seeing an illusion. However, it wasn't to be.

"And you are?" Murdoch asked.

"Ryanna. Kim Ryanna," Shinn said before a memory caused him to frown a bit. "A woman who a strange fetish of doing 'it' at the grave yard and then goes around accusing everyone else of doing it with her."

"You're being mean," the girl complained.

"Well, better quash any misunderstanding before you start it," Shinn said defensively. "So why are you here?"

In response, she pulled him up even as he complained. "I'm back in ORB and thus would like you to give a tour of the place."

"A tour?" Although she had told him that she was from Confederation, he had falsely assumed that she migrated to ORB.

"Hey, how about me?" Murdoch drawled while struggling with the boxes on his body.

The girl smiled at him. "Sorry, pops. I'll be borrowing your son for a while," she said as she ran away with Shinn on tow.

* * *

The view from the hill wasn't that beautiful but Shinn reasoned that all girls had to fulfill their romantic urges. He couldn't understand why being at such place at sunset was something he 'should' do. Girls and their senseless imaginations. Well, not all, he reminded himself. Stellar didn't ask to go see the sunset. He felt a bit of melancholic nostalgia as he went through the short time they were together at that time in the caves by the sea. Even though her hands are bloodied by those she killed, Stellar was an innocent girl whose life shouldn't be stolen by other people's greed. Shinn closed his eyes, trying to picture her as she danced through the wind the day they had met.

"SHIT," he cursed.

"Hmm?" The girl in front of him asked absently.

"Nothing." He had accidentally visualized another blonde, the one who was standing in front of monument dedicated to those who lost their life in the two wars while trying to see forgiveness through badly arranged flower arrangement. The girl, who unlike Stellar, a damned hypocrite who shamelessly defended her father's idiotic actions that led the country to the brink of ruin even though behind the facade, she was just an insecure girl. What a coincidence as he was also a hypocrite, he thought deprecatingly. He narrowed his eyes. Since when he had become sympathetic to _her_?

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ryanna said wistfully, distracting him from his thought.

"Maybe," Shinn said as he finally began to pay attention to the person in front of him. She was attractive, he decided. While she wasn't as drop dead gorgeous as Lacus or even the Hawke sisters, her personality more than make up for it.

"Shinn."

"Huh?"

She gave him a slightly admonishing look, as if not liking him zoning out on her. But that look was quickly replaced by a smile. "You're lucky to have someone like your dad?"

He tensed a bit but then realised that she was referring to Murdoch. "Ah, Murdoch isn't really my father. My family was killed in the first war."

"Sorry to hear that but I already know about that from your answer when we first met. You're missing the point, Shinn. What I mean is that even though you lost your real family, you can still have a new one." She noticed the disbelief on Shinn's face and sighed. "Despite his gruff words and demeanour, I can see that he treats you as if you're his son."

"He nags me all the time regarding my work."

"My point exactly! Wouldn't a caring father do the same thing?"

He couldn't deny the statement. In fact, he would seriously give the matter a serious thought. While he wasn't planning to become Murdoch's adopted son, he could at least open up a little bit more. "Maybe you're right."

"A woman is always right."

"Yeah, right."

"Can I ask a question, Shinn?"

"Er, shoot away."

"If you wish for something and have that wish granted, what will you ask for?"

He couldn't answer even though he had thought about such question from time to time. At first, he wanted his family not to perish in the first war but after all that he had gone through, he had finally accepted that if they were still alive, he wouldn't end up where he was; he remembered being a reclusive brat only interested in the newest video games.

"The richest man in the world? Or maybe popular with ladies."

"As if I'm that callous," Shinn sniffed. "How about you?"

"World peace, I guess... Hey! You're trying to evade the question."

He shook his head, stood and walked to the spot next to where she stood. "Honestly, I don't know. I thought I had the answer but then..." He looked at her. "Do you accept a rain check?"

She gave a coy smile before surprising him with a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be sure to cash in."

* * *

Terrence watched as the screen displayed the mobile suit Kira was fighting slowly disappear behind the translucent curtain. "Probably an improved version of Mirage Colloid; the molecular structure should be stable for extended use. But the other limitations apply, I guess."

Since the colloid could refract a broad spectrum of radiation, it could render a mobile suit stealthy or, in case of another derivation used on an ORB mobile suit prototype in the second war, almost invincible. However, the refraction work both ways, meaning any mobile suit using Mirage Colloid couldn't use any beam based weapons for ambush. Projectile-based weapons could be used at the cost of the totally disrupting the stealth system; against mobile suit equipped with Phase Shift, the move was simply foolish.

"So, let me get this straight. You say that instead of seeing that, you saw the pilot?"

Kira sighed. "Look, I know that it sounds impossible, but I had somewhat become one with my mobile suit."

"Listening to your story, I can surmise that meeting the other you piloting Grey Moth..."

"Inquisitor," Kira corrected.

"Right, he told you. We'll update UNITY's database with the info."

The ace pilot scratched his head in puzzlement. He remembered what they talked about and there wasn't any mention regarding the mobile suit's name. So how could he have known about it?"

"Hey, stop acting cool by ignoring me!"

"What?" Kira dazed.

"I was asking, what else did you say? The other you I mean."

"Nothing more." That was the truth, at least on the surface. However Kira felt that there was more to the meeting but he couldn't figure it out.

"I see..."

"So, do you know what happened to me at that time?"

Terrence huffed. "I was about to tell you before you interrupted me."

"Sorry."

The STI founder brought out a table and entered some commands into it. Two diagrams of sinusoidal waves appeared. "Look on the second one. See the pattern similarity with the first one?"

Kira nodded.

"That's your brainwave patterns during the fight with that grey Inquisitor."

"The first one?"

"The brainwave patterns from a mobile suit in the second war."

"Her brainwaves."

"Coincidentally, she displayed the patterns a few times, one of which in Berlin. But at those times, I was so busy keeping an eye on her vital signs that it never crossed my mind to check her brainwaves." He then continued with his explanation, revealing that the possible cause of such experience was due to the Vue Divine system installed on Guardian. An improved, and at the same time, safer version of Neural Overclocker, it had a 'Phoebe' at its core, a crystal that had superconductor embedded in it. Exhaustive studies only revealed that the small crystal amplified signals hundreds of times better than the current technology could achieve with larger amplifiers. Efforts to duplicate the crystal only met with failures.

"So you're thinking that the crystal induced delusion in me or maybe caused me to interact with Guardian at a very fast speed?"

"While I'm thinking along the same line, I don't dare make any statement until I have the data to back it up."

"Very well. In that case, I'm going to retire for today so that I can work on Project DF."

"Hey, that's my baby!" Terrence protested as Kira walked away. As expected, the protest fell on deaf ears. After the latter had disappeared, he went to a nearby console and evoked a command. A Fllay's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Fllay baby."

"_We are ELEANA, Terrence; you gave the name yourself."_

"Well, habit dies hard."

"_This conversation is recorded, you know."_

"Great. Now even computers blackmail me."

"_So what do you want? We're still renegotiating the network due to the loss sustained."_

Terrence's face became serious. "A single question. Did you withhold some information from us?"

ELEANA's face changed into confusion. _"What makes you say that?"_

"The fact that you attempted to derail the conversation without answering the question proved it as much. You know that you can't lie but you can choose not to answer. What are you planning?"

She was quiet for a moment. _"As Kira's wings, we will never withhold any information that will bring Kira in danger."_

"In short, you're keeping the info because the knowledge can put him in danger."

ELEANA didn't say a word.

"Tell me about it."

The video recording of Inquisitor appearing from its camouflage and arming its weapon was displayed. _"This is the final recording by Unit Five."_

"The way that mobile suit raised its gun, it's rather slow... Wait. Are you telling me that it was on purpose?"

"_The probability is quite high."_

In his mind, Terrence analysed all the facts and came to a very bitter conclusion. If Inquisitor had aimed its weapon a bit faster, Guardian would have been destroyed as Unit Five wouldn't be able to get in place to take the shot. That itself led to another conclusion that the other Kira wanted Unit Five to sacrifice itself to save Guardian. "He already knew about the connection between the two of you earlier on." It wasn't a question.

"_Yes."_

"Why?"

"_Why indeed. However, that is the question that we do not want Kira to ask."_

"I can see the logic now." Kira could lose his focus if he became bent on finding the answer. Terrence lowered his head as the memory of the final battle in the Second War resurfaced. "and unfortunately, now I have the answer to the question as well. Your action of keeping the information from Kira is the right one, ELEANA."

"_Of course. What will we do?"_

"For you, please support him. I will try to think of a way to deal with the other Kira," Terrence said as he moved to the main door.

In the end, ELEANA was left alone. _"Terrence, you don't have to tell us that as it is our purpose. Kira will fulfil his destiny and we will be with him until then."_ Her eyes glowed yellowish.

"_Until then."_

* * *

An object in the shape of a meteorite entered the atmosphere, glowing red hot due to the air friction. Slowly, the meteorite was being reduced by the intense hit until almost all of it had withered away, leaving a single unknown mobile suit.

Its appearance didn't go unnoticed at a nearby ZAFT testing base in what used to be known as the Lohengrin Ravine. Already, multiple mobile suits scrambled to attack the intruder. In the lead mobile suit, a white GOUF equipped with a prototype assault shroud, Dearka Elsmann wondered about the intruder's intent. Although the mobile suit was still yet to be identified, he was willing to bet that month's salary that the mobile suit was in league with White Freedom and Grey Moth.

Could it be that the mobile suit was after the prototype that would eventually succeed GOUF? While ZAFT's Integrated Bureau had submitted UNMS-04X-Phalanx for Rimane Competition, it also continued to develop other designs for ZAFT. Although UNITY had already formed its own peacekeeping force, there were some people in PLANTs that felt it would be better for ZAFT to maintain its military power as well, a sentiment shared by some nations on Earth. Yzak, if he were still alive would probably support that notion as well, Dearka surmised.

"Spread out," he commanded his squadron. Even though they have yet to get a visual on their target, it wouldn't be wise to assume that it couldn't strike them from afar, a painful lesson taught to him by Alliance's long range artillery mobile suits in the second war.

"We have a visual," an AWACS-equipped GOUF announced.

Dearka stare at the image on the screen. The intruder's design was reminiscent of Buster as it was carrying two rifles on its back. Other weapons he noticed were streamlined missile racks on shoulders and hips. "Spread out," he called out in alarm as the mobile suit slowly brought forth its two rifles.

"Don't worry, sir," a greenhorn pilot said confidently as his mobile suit brought up its lightwave shield to protect itself. "Our upgraded GOUFs are capable of stopping even Strike Freedom."

The lightwave shield didn't help prevent the mobile suit from becoming a very large fireball two seconds later.

"Arrogant fool," Dearka cursed as the rest of his team evaded the shots aimed at them. He couldn't be sure how it was achieved but the intruder's rifles could penetrate even lightwave barrier. His work was cut out for him. ZAFT's higher ups didn't expect someone to brazenly attack the base so besides him and a handful of veterans, the rest of the squadron was filled with rookies who had just graduated from the academy three months prior.

"Keep out of the fight until you're told," he told everyone as his mobile suit speed away at full military power. It wasn't like he was trying to be a hero, going in alone; while he was brave, he wasn't stupid. However, if they tried to gang up on the single enemy, there was the risk of friendly fire occurring. He remembered seeing footages of a black Alliance mobile suit using enemy mobile suits to protect itself from their compatriots. While a despicable thing to do, it was very effective in sapping morals.

The newcomer slowed down a bit, confirming Dearka's suspicion that it was waiting for the rest of ZAFT squadron to catch up to him. "Not on my watch, bastard!" he said as his GOUF spewed beam shots from its right hand when it got in range.

To his consternation, his target rolled out of the way even as he kept firing. But Dearka was picked for Creuset's team for his skill and so using that skill, he finally managed to force the green suit back into an advantageous position for him. He pushed a black button and instantly, multiple compartments on his GOUF popped up, revealing missiles inside them. "Eat this!" he said as the missiles were unleashed at full forced, their heads glowing; the missiles were designed to pierced Phase Shift armours as well as lightwave barriers.

The lone mobile suit dove toward the ground while the missiles slowly closed the distance.

Dearka would have been confident of winning the fight if not for the mobile suit deftly evading its pursuers; one by one the missiles slammed into the ground without any harm to it. His opponent didn't drop to the ground because it was being cornered but did that in order to prevent the missiles hitting it from below.

What a terrifyingly devious opponent, Dearka decided.

Two seconds later, his GOUF's main screen became dark as his mobile suit began careening to earth.

* * *

The man stood beside the periscope, tilting his cap's visor a bit. "XO, take us to the launch depth, cool and quiet,"

His executive officer nodded. "Aye, aye sir." He then gave the order to the rest. "Engage Geshmidiq Panzer propulsion and raise the ship to 25 feet below surface."

The whole place began to tilt a bit as the submarine where it was located began to climb up.

"Captain," the executive officer began, "may we know what we're doing?" The ship had moved to depth launch few times that week and they had also surfaced twice; complete clean and sterile air supply inside the submarine couldn't ever hope to match the natural one. However the captain had ordered for the ship to engage its Geshmidiq Panzer. The colloidal compound would propel submarine forward without it having to use its propellers, in effect reducing the resulting sonar noise it produced. Engaging the system meant that the ship would be snooping around to do something.

The captain sighed and fished a piece of paper out of his pocket. "This? Sure," he said as he handed it to the XO. "Why don't you read it over to the whole ship?"

The XO eyed him a bit suspiciously before taking it. Apart from the Captain, no one really knew where they were going since the ship had been running on a preset automatic navigation and had basically moved sailed around the world. The explanation offered by his superior didn't help; worldwide patrol didn't mean a thing if they didn't know what they were supposed to patrol. But the paper that the captain handed should have the answer. Taking a deep breath, he engaged the microphone and read the letter.

As he went through it, the XO's eyes twitched. The letter specified that when the time came, the captain, along with him would activate the auxiliary command system. The letter was signed by none other than Lacus Clyne. "Auxiliary Command system?" he set as put down the letter.

The captain gestured toward a console. "Finger and voice."

"How? Why?" the XO muttered even as he moved to it.

"Although on the surface," the captain stopped as he accidentally made a lame pun, "...scratch that. Although officially we're under UNITY, this ship is placed under I-9's command," he finished as his XO finished the authorization procedure.

"The fuck!" the other man cursed. "You're telling me that we're under the sanitation company that collect rubbish from our quarters?"

The captain rolled his eyes. "Then I guess that the facade it presents to the world really worked. In fact, the reason everyone is inside here is probably because they found no rubbish to incriminate you."

"Sorry?"

The captain pointed at the screen next to them as I-9's logo appeared. He then picked up the microphone as the other man read the information. "This is the captain speaking. In case you're are wondering, along with Mr. Kenneth, what the hell we're doing running around here and there, I'll be very blunt. At 0730 hours Greenwich Time, around three hours ago, a ZAFT base in the Middle East had been struck by a terrorist force. The order that Mr. Kenneth read details the response to such events." He took a deep breath. "Ladies and gentlemen, everybody else in the world is sleeping in their beds without knowing and having to worry about it but for us, the attack meant only one thing. As of now, I-9 agency, which includes everybody in this ship including Able Seaman Pedro's goldfish..." He took a deep breath.

"Is in the state of war."

Five minutes later, four vertical launching tubes on the submarine slowly opened and four Kraken missiles launched toward their target: An abandoned ZAFT underground base in Somalia that had been identified as being used by Destined as a forward base in Africa. The occupiers wouldn't know it but when the missiles were a few kilometres away from the base, their final ramjet boosters would be activated and the missiles would drill into the ground above the base with very high kinetic energy.

With hardened tungsten alloy used for their tips, the missiles would made their way through the sand and earth before breaking through the base's 20 feet thick ceiling, shocking to nearby Destineds soldiers who didn't die because of the ceiling collapsed they caused. Five seconds later, their explosive payloads would go off. The base could have survived the massive tremor caused by a single missile, but the four missiles ensured that it would become a massive tomb, killing any survivor by suffocation.

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (21 February 2009)**

1. This chapter is rather hard to write. I've been looking and looking at the draft for quite some time. Oh well, here you are, the next chapter. With this chapter, I've reached the first trimester of the story, since Kira meeting with the antagonist (Shinn met him earlier though not face to face) is considered an important event. The good news is that I've finally settled on the ending of the story and how everything will fall into place (including _her_). Some of you who immediately jumped into this story after Fallen Angel will notice some discrepancies between the events in the final chapter in Fallen Angel and this story. It is intended as but not strictly adhering to the events, I'll be able to write more naturally and you my esteemed readers would have less spoilers.


	8. Dusk Fairy

_Among the ocean of space debris and emptiness, a reddish sphere floated unnoticed. Slowly, the color began to fade into grey as the Phase Shift armor that protected the sphere receded, leaving it naked and defenseless. Even a space junk could damage the then fragile object. But that didn't worry the sphere's occupant. Even in the claustrophobic darkness that engulfed her cockpit Fllay didn't even think about the possibility that it might get destroyed. Nor did she pay attention to the computer's metallic voice telling her that the remaining oxygen would be enough for six more hours; a very short duration. She didn't have to worry about that at all. _

_She was dying after all. _

_Pain, the red mist that was veiling her blurry eyesight, the coppery taste in her mouth as well as her erratic heart beats were testaments to her pushing her body beyond its limit. Even as pain stabbed her body mercilessly like a useless broken doll, even as drawing a forced breath caused her lungs to feel on fire, Fllay had accepted the fact that it would be a matter of time before she succumbed to the eternal slumber that had her in its tight vice. But unlike the Sleeping Beauty that would eventually wake up one day, she knew that she wouldn't. And unlike last time, she would stay asleep._

_Her eyes settled on the emergency beacon button that was not very far from her left hand._

_Pressing the button would cause the cockpit's computer to scream to the world that despite Fallen that housed it had been destroyed, the cockpit, as well as the pilot inside it, were intact. A rescue party would probably be sent to locate and rescue its occupant, provided that there were rescue efforts. But as the button remained obediently within her reach, she couldn't move her hand to press it. Not even a finger would move._

_Fllay wondered why she wanted to press the button in the first place. It would certainly waste the rescuers' time to get her would be coffin, not when they could go and rescue other people instead. She had served her purpose so it would be better to save other people whose existence was more important. _

_The screen on her helmet had long ceased to function as there was nothing left that could relay the outside information to it. Despite that, Fllay somehow knew that the battle had ended and Kira was safe; she could still feel him being alive. Perhaps her gambit to damage the ZAFT's super fortress had been successful._

_Her eyelids began to close. At the very last moment, she forced them to open wide. That herculean effort took the last shred of her willpower. She couldn't stop them anymore. There was no way Fllay could fight the sleep from claiming her. She could almost see that all chains that anchored her to the living world had been broken. All of them were in tatters, except for a very small ribbon that end up wrapping something in her chest and was connected to something at a great distance. Ignoring her pain, she smiled as she knew what the ribbon meant symbolically. It represented connection to the only thing, no, the only man that she had ever loved throughout her meager life; the selfish hope that he loved her in return. Despite still remaining in one piece, the ribbon was frayed, telling her how hopeless it was. _

_When the escape shuttle she was punctured by Creuset's shot at the end of the first war, she was supposed to die. Died she did, although not in the manner perceived by everyone else who witness the event, including Kira. Tthe shot created a gashing hole that bled the air out. She remembered floating in the space, futilely trying to breathe the almost nonexistent oxygen before she succumbed. It would have been better if she died in an explosion as she wouldn't even know what happened rather than lasting a few more seconds watching Kira's mobile suit in the distance. She remembered raising her hand toward it, trying to call it. At that time, she didn't want to die. She was being selfish and wanted to be with the young man who had found his way in her heart. _

_The next thing she knew, she woke up at a laboratory, being experimented upon by LOGOS to become one of their ultimate soldiers. She neither was a soldier nor had the natural talent to become one; the training was almost too much to handle. But she persevered, knowing that she would eventually be allowed out and that would give her a small chance to see him, to see what he has become. _

_Oh, they had met; they also fought on the battlefields few times. Fate eventually led her to end up on Archangel and she had to pretend not remembering him in order to push him away. She already found out that he was close to Lacus and despite her own feelings she didn't want to come between them. Then Kira came to her room and in the end they made love. That act had destroyed any semblance of resistance she had._

_Fllay moved her right hand to touch the ribbon, not noticing the fact that the hand was ethereal and her real right hand was still at the cockpit seat's hand rest. She pulled the ribbon a bit and was overwhelmed by the pain in her heart; it was as if it was fighting a losing battle to maintain that single hope. However, Fllay was so tired trying to hold to it. Her connection with him had driven her past the point of recovery. He had ruined her ability to survive him. _

_Despite that, it was unfair to force him to love her back._

_Slowly, her hand around the ribbon tightened. Kira wasn't selfish and so did Lacus. She was one the one who was selfish. She still wanted him to come to her; save her just like in the first war. She still wanted him to whisper comforting and sweet nothingness that was meant only for her just like when they first made love. She still wanted to stay with him._

_Fllay smiled bitterly. She was only thinking of her own needs even to the very end. No wonder Kira said that her feeling wasn't real. _

_Her hand yanked the ribbon harshly, pulling it out of her chest. Instantly she let out a psychic scream of pain as she felt her soul being torn apart. Where there had been hope and future, only loneliness, despair and darkness remained. It didn't matter to her as she already given up. _

_It was said that when people die, they would see a bright light and moved toward it. Fllay saw nothing resembling that; only giant emptiness that was surrounding her. _

_Bit by bit, the breathing became irregular. _

_Outside of that emptiness, Fllay noticed that there was something. _

_Bit by bit, her heartbeat became slow and slower._

_There was a brief flash, and the darkness receded slightly. The flash also revealed that something to be Kira._

_Bit by bit, her breathing become shallower and shallower._

_The flash had abated but she could still see Kira's face clearly. It was an ironic for her to see him even at the twilight of her life. He seemed to say something urgent but she couldn't hear his voice._

_Bit by bit, her consciousness began to erode._

_Fllay could only smile sadly to him. Despite how much she wanted to, she couldn't open her mouth to say that she loved him; it was a sin to do so because she didn't deserve him. No, she reminded herself. He himself had said that the feeling she had wasn't real. It wasn't real; yet she needed him if she was to live. The unreciprocated link between her and Kira had ensured her fall. It was for the best. Her fractured soul couldn't possibly handle the insanity and anguish caused by being apart from him had she survived._

_Then she heard his anguished call for her. She could hear that he was in great pain. But because of what?_

_Her name was called again by him._

_He was in pain; there was no mistaking it. If that was the case, then she shouldn't waste her time being there. She had to go to him to help him. Maybe Lacus was being attacked. If that was the case then it was her duty to protect the person Kira loved the most…_

_Minute movements of Fllay's chest ceased._

Kira opened his eyes, mouth opened in a silent scream. After seeing where he was, he gained semblance of control and leaned on his seat and breathed slowly.

"_I suppose you have that 'dream' again?" _ELEANA's voice enquired.

"Yeah. A dream, though not the same one."

"_I would like to remind you that I did warn you that sleeping inside this cockpit would expose you to the Quantum Brainwave Communication computer."_

"I know," he said as he checked the surrounding system.

"_Yet, you pay no heed to my warning. Perhaps you would like to enhance the interface between you and all of us? If that's the case then our performance can be increased but you will be more vulnerable to backlash caused by our destruction."_

"Then I'll simply not let any one of you be destroyed."

"_Did you make a similar promise to her?"_

If the statement was made by a person, he would have pegged it as sarcasm or insult. However, ELEANA was a computer which functioned by logic alone, hence was innocent. But the question did cause his spirit to sink. "I did but failed."

"_Then you should realize that it's statistically impossible to prevent anything from happening to us."_

"But just like me you're also affected by the loss."

"_Yes, but that's because as part of the system, we're interconnected."_

"Like you said just now, I'm trying to improve our connection so that we can fight more effective."

ELEANA was quiet for a moment. _"I'm examining the possibility that you have another reason. You accidentally sleep in this cockpit two weeks ago and the recording of your brainwave indicated that your quantum brainwave activity tripled. You said that you were dreaming at that time. Tell me, Kira, are you trying to dream each night?"_

There was no escaping from ELEANA's logical observation. "It was then that I felt it."

"_Define 'it'"_

Kira slowly clenched his hand and put it above his heart. "At that time, for the first time in two years, I can feel that she's alive."

"_I see. But how can you be sure that you detected her instead of me?"_

He admitted that ELEANA had a point but still a large part of him believed that it was Fllay's presence that he felt.

"So you cheated." Terrence's voice caused Kira to crane his neck out to see the STI founder. "No wonder you managed a high level of harmonization with ELEANA."

"I only started sleeping in the cockpit last week, Terrence."

Terrence's face scrunched. "You mean you've been sleeping there for a week. Do you want to be insane?" His eyes twitched a bit. "Or are you already insane?"

Kira scratched his head. "I'm perfectly fine, Terrence."

The other man threw his hands up. "Okay, but I'm going to keep you on monitor just to be sure."

The Ultimate Coordinator sighed. Terrence still couldn't forgive him for what he did to Fllay; not that he forgave himself. "You were searching for me?"

"Right. I detected some discrepancy in the other Kira."

"Discrepancy?"

"Remember that I mentioned that his fighting style was similar to the one you used at the end of the first war? At first I thought that he was cloned from you right after the first war ended, you know, someone could have gotten close enough to you while you're recuperating in Archangel and then took a tissue sample. But it's not possible. Our researchers found out that while fighting against you that day, both of you displayed fighting styles that… um… weren't perfect."

"Weren't perfect?"

"No, that's a wrong description. What I wanted to say that our tacticians tried to go through strategies used by both of you and we came the conclusions that the tactics were chaotic. For example, you had five chances to land an attack on him but you didn't. Strangely enough, it's the same with him." Terrence raised his eyebrows, remembering something. "Oh, before you say anything, let me tell you that we know about SEED's ability to accelerate your thinking process to come up with tactics at a rate that will look like you know the future."

"Our tactics are similar…" Kira trailed as his mind arrived to a conclusion.

"Yes." Terrence said, confirming his conclusion. "He was born or created just after the second war."

"How does it contribute to the discrepancy?"

"If he really is your clone that supposedly has your knowledge, he shouldn't have expected that you joined UNITY."

Kira nodded his head. The other him didn't really seem surprised upon seeing him. If the position was reversed, he would have shocked. Despite his prowess in battlefield, Kira didn't like being there. Yet, the other Kira seemed to be expecting him to join UNITY.

"Thus, the conclusion that I made," Terrence said slowly, " is that the other Kira wasn't your clone but something else."

The statement was a bad news because if that was the case, then Kira neither be sure about the clone's actions nor predicts **his** course of action.

* * *

"You wonder how to make people understand each other?" Murdoch said while looking at the young man seated next to him. "Whoa…" he uttered as something pulled on his fishing line. That something had was trying to get away with earthworm bait. The tug of war continued on for a few moments before the line became slack. Murdoch lost and the 'you can't believe the size of that thing' had won. Grumbling, he reeled the line to bait the hook again. "Why do you want to do something uas seless like that?"

Shinn turned toward him, a bit angered by the put down. "It's so that we can have peace! Then maybe we don't have to deal with the conflict! We don't have to fight in these wars!"

"I'm asking you why we must do something impossible."

"I told you…"

Murdoch held up a hand to stop the impending tirade. "Let me clarify my statement one more time. Why must we find out how to _force _people to understand us?"

"Force? There's no force."

"You're contradicting yourself."

"I'm not!"

Murdoch took a fresh worm and baited it. "You are. Look. You said that you want make people understand each other. That's the problem, you see. People can decide that they want to understand each other but that decision can only be made by themselves. Sure, you can always point a gun at their heads and tell them to accept your view but even if they acquiesced, it's not because they really understand how you're thinking but that you'll blow their brains out if they don't pretend to understand you."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"There you go, assuming that I really understand what you're saying."

Shinn turned to glare at his own fishing line.

"Understanding, unlike what they claim, is only one-way, kid."

"One-way?"

"Yes. Right now, I am assuming that you understand what I'm talking about but only you can confirm that."

"I understand you just fine."

"Good. So, back to my point. You can only ensure that you try your best to understand them but even that itself is not ensured because your understanding is defined by your own perception of reality. Out of all leaders that I know of, I think Gilbert understand everyone the best; even Clyne could ever dream of achieving the level of empathy that he had." He cast the line. "Unfortunately, rather than use that ability for the good of all, he tried to force everyone to accept his own brand of peace." Murdoch was silent for a while before chuckling. "Then again, maybe that was his answer for everyone."

Shinn pondered on his words. Although they seemed convulsed, his words actually made sense. "I hate to say this but your words are a bit on the deep side. How did you become so good at this kind of thinking?"

"Fishing."

"Fishing? You mean you can utter philosophical garbage just by sitting here, in the middle of blazing sun doing something as unproductive as fishing?"

"What you call as unproductive, I call it as getting tuned to my inner self."

"You're just lazing around!"

Murdoch's line became taut once again and he began to reel in slowly. "Well, that's what you said without really knowing the truth. See? You think that you understand what I'm doing but you don't."

"All right, all right, I get it."

"By the way, if not for me telling you to come here, will you find out the time to go and rest?"

"Well, I do make time for recreation."

"That's a bull and you know it," The other man said while letting the line go a little bit. "You're always moping around the base," he said before resuming his reeling. "Fishing can make you become a better pilot."

"Really…" Shinn asked full of disbelief.

"Do you remember fighting against Fallen in ORB?"

"Who could ever forget fighting against that black mobile suit? I think the pilot is probably the most dangerous pilot around after Kira."

Murdoch grinned as he gestured to the fish inside the water. "The video showed that it managed to last a long time fighting against your Destiny and two other advanced prototypes. Do you know why?"

"Because he is very skilled?"

"No, because _she _fish around."

"Sorry?"

The older man held a still struggling fish that he caught. "Fishing is just like mobile suit fight. It's just not a matter of firing away everything or trying to overwhelm your enemy. Skilled fisherman and pilot shared one very important similarity: infinite patience."

"Why patience?"

"Because in both fishing and fighting, you play a tug-of-war game; fisherman with his fish, the pilot and his enemy. If both sides are equally skilled, then the only way to win is to let your enemy make that mistake or…"

"Or?"

"Trick your enemy into making that mistake. Of course, Erica told me that you're a SEED holder; you have the capability to do that."

SEED holder was bestowed with superior senses and an almost uncanny ability to read into the future. However, in reality that wasn't really true. Whenever the SEED holder activated his ability, his cognitive function accelerated as well. In a battle, that meant the holder could easily prepare a full battle tactic to use on the enemy even before the enemy could react to the first attack.

"Erica is a loud mouth. How did she find out about that, anyway?"

"Since you're our test pilot, kid, so everyone who's a someone has to know."

Shinn checked his line and found out that the bait had been eaten. Grumbling, he reset the fishing pole and lean on the ground, hands behind his back. "Why didn't you treat me differently?"

"You would prefer me to treat you differently because you're a SEED holder or Coordinator?"

"No…" Shinn said as he closed his eyes to relax, "but I'm rather glad to hear that you're not giving me any preferential treatment."

"I'm not giving you any preferential treatment; I'm mistreating you."

The test pilot's snapped his eyes and he turned to glare at the person next to him. "HEY!"

"But only because you're a whiny brat," Murdoch said with a smirk.

Shinn continued staring before sighing and resumed his dillydallying. "Whatever."

"You know, kiddo…"

"What, _kiddo_ now?"

"You know, whiny brat."

"Fine, call me kiddo."

"Even though we can't make people understand, there's one thing that we can do."

"What is it?"

"Communicate with them. In fact, it's because they can't understand us that we have to talk to them."

"Communicate, huh?"

"Yeah." Murdoch's voice sounded as if he was smiling. "Do that and you'll do just fine."

* * *

"Your report?"

"Our Kira has demonstrated an improved stability. Although we will continue with our observation, I can safely say that he will more useful and valuable now."

"He?"

"Um… I apologize, sir. I know that the designation isn't proper considering that the syst…"

"There's no need to apologize," the man interjected. "I'm fine with it. He is our Kira Yamato after all. So will he be able to pilot Judgment Freedom?"

"Err…. About that…"

"He wouldn't be able to pilot it, would he?"

"I'm so sorry sir. I'll try to get him to pilot it."

The man shook his head. "There's no need. I'm fine with the current arrangement. In fact, maybe it's better this way since we're not absolutely sure about his stability."

"Yes sir," his subordinate said, his voice clearly show a sign of relief.

"Isn't it wonderful?"

"Sir?"

"Gilbert Durandal tried so hard to get Kira Yamato to join us because as the Ultimate Coordinator, his assistance would have benefitted us greatly."

"But he didn't join us."

"Indeed. How unfortunate, considering that he was very much interested in fighting for the sake of peace." The man shrugged. "Perhaps it's just lip service on his part. But now we don't need him because we have our own ace, our own avatar. With the real Kira Yamato dead, only our Kira remains and in time, he will fulfill the role that the real one forsaken."

* * *

Floating inside what seemed to be a glowing sphere, **Kira **held a translucent file, looking at the photograph of the real Kira Yamato along with some information on it.

Kira Yamato was killed not only to allow him to join UNITY's UNGARD special force but also to turn him into a martyr in the eyes of the public. One of the reasons why **Kira **came into existence was to allow The Destineds to borrow the original Kira's name to further the organization's struggle to save humanity and to achieve the everlasting peace humankind so desire. But then Kira was 'assassinated' and his funeral was given a wide coverage. The ORB authority also, to remember one of its decorated heroes, opened it to the public. An interesting fact that **Kira **noticed was the way Cagalli was behaving during the funeral; she was too immature to really hide her emotions and he could see them seep through her mask at various points in the procession. She simply didn't know about the conspiracy. That finding was solidified further by her letting his funeral be a public event as if she really wanted everyone to remember the brother that she could never acknowledge publicly.

A small smile appeared on **Kira's **lips as he reached for a file on Cagalli and let the one on Kira fade away. The Destineds wouldn't have targeted Cagalli if they knew that she was related to the real Kira; she would be kidnapped instead to be used as a leverage against him. **Kira **supposed that he could reveal the information to his superiors but doing so will caused them to react in ways that will be disadvantageous. Cagalli Yula Attha would be more valuable in her current place and **Kira **would be more than happy to ensure that the current status quo continued. Besides, he was 'her brother' and what good brother would ever put his sister in harm's way?

He was done with the file and was about to put it away when something caught his eyes. It was supposed to be an unimportant piece of information but there it was, beckoning him to read it. One Shinn Asuka had helped thwarted the attempt on Cagalli's life.

**"Shinn Asuka?"** he mused as he searched for the information on him. The pilot of Destiny in the second war, the young Coordinator was somewhat a rival to Kira Yamato. The reason wasn't stated but intelligence suggested that he opposed Kira's way of ending the war as merely disabling the enemy would allow them to come back later on.

The real reason which was the tragedy in Berlin wouldn't really affect The Destined's plan for him so there was no need for **Kira **to reveal it… just yet.

Shinn Asuka was currently serving as a test pilot for ORB's Morgenroete, the defense firm that had provided the island as well as other countries with numerous weaponries in the two wars. **Kira **thought about the fight that he had with a modified Murasame when he went after a convoy that purported to be escorting Cagalli. Yes, he could see that the pilot employed tactics similar to one used by Shinn Asuka when he piloted Impulse and then Destiny.

The former ZAFT pilot being together with Cagalli would serve **Kira's **plan very well although he was sure that his superior would make a move against the young man later on.

Shinn's file faded from the view as **Kira **took another file that appeared. He smiled forlornly as he gazed at a beautiful face. **"Lacus…"**

Perhaps what he will be doing was simply for naught because it was simply irrational but he didn't care because to him what mattered was the creation of a peaceful tomorrow where she would be a part of it.

Peace…

Everyone was after the same thing. However they were trying to achieve it in their respective ways. That was to be expected because as long humans remained individualistic instead of being part of a collective group, confrontation would continue to fester on and progress would continue to be achieved on the foundation of blood and tears.

He may be hated the very same person that he was trying to protect but he didn't care.

A beep interrupted his thought and he turned his body to the left as a screen manifested itself to show a mobile suit. **Kira's **eyes widened. **"Impossible…"** he growled slowly. United Nation Geo-orbital Armored Response Division's technological arm had almost finished its seventh-generation mobile suit; available data suggested that Kira Yamato's mobile suit was a sixth-generation although it did use few seventh-generation technologies as well. Codenamed 'Project DF', the new mobile suit would be the first truly dedicated anti-mobile suit killer. Even the mobile suit Fallen was a modified multipurpose mobile suit.

**"Dämmerungsfee."**

Dusk Fairy, as suggested by data, if controlled by a suitable pilot would be a dangerous addition to one piloted by Kira Yamato; it was probable that the two mobile suits were designed to complement each other. That itself could hamper The Destineds' plan. **Kira** himself could attest to that fact Judgment and Inquisitor's sixth-generation frames were clearly outmatched by Guardian's capabilities. It was only due to the Mirage Colloid system employed that Inquisitor could keep up with Guardian.

It felt rather odd knowing exactly the name of the mobile suit his rival piloted, **Kira **decided.

The information on the mobile suit Dämmerungsfee's upcoming completion and subsequent debut didn't worry him much. In fact, if any, the information only caused him to accelerate his own plan.

**"In the end, I, Kira Yamato will make sure that the future will be there unmarred by your presence, Fllay Allster."**

* * *

"Say, I have a question," Shinn said to Erica whose face was on the screen.

"Go ahead and ask."

"How much we'll receiving for this assignment?"

"I'd say it should be enough to cover some maintenance expenses."

"Some bonus for me in the pipeline?"

"No," Erica said simply.

"Great. Even though I'm being forced to take a paid mission, becoming a mercenary in the process, I'm still being paid a paltry sum."

"Being slightly underpaid has its advantages, you know."

"Such as?"

"At least you don't have to worry me suing you for damage to my hearing due to your incessant complaining."

"Stingy woman," Shinn muttered. "So, what is it that I'm supposed to do when I arrived at that area?"

"You're to maintain a security perimeter around the area until an excavation team from UNITY arrive."

"I'm a guard dog. Okay, I didn't have a high expectation for this mission anyway. But anything on why they didn't send their own team instead of contracting our own?"

"As you know, UNITY has been sending its peacekeepers to quell some trouble in hotspots all around the world so it's possible that it can't spare enough resource for this mission. Besides, ORB's proximity to the area means we can send you there faster than it could."

"All right, sounds good enough." Even though he acknowledged Erica's words, he didn't stop thinking about the current situation. Even if what she said was true, he still believed that the mission was important to UNITY because it contracted ORB for defense of the area. He noticed that the fact ORB sending Skyknight on the mission meant that the risk was there for some confrontation with hostile element; he suspected that UNITY requested for the prototype to be sent. If that was the case then it was possible that the type of enemy he may face include advanced prototypes such as the 'Grey Moth' that took out his custom Murasame.

His computer beeped. Skyknight was nearing the mission area. "E.T.A. in five minutes," he said as he looked over the topographical map. The mountainous region of Borneo wasn't as rugged as Himalaya but he couldn't find it in him to care about whatever it was the UNITY excavation team was searching for in that isolated place. "Setting security perimeter to twenty five square kilometer radius."

"Roger. UNITY confirmed that the team will arrive in two hours time. They'll also resupply your mobile suit so that should put to rest your worry about the mission time."

"Can't I hope for any bonus?"

Erica sighed. "If you really want to, then I guess I'll have to ask Lady Cagalli."

"What does she have to do with this?" Shinn asked a bit defensively.

"She's the one who authorized any payment."

"Oh."

As Erica signed off, the young test pilot thought about women that were in his life at the moment. The first one, of course would be the ever hardheaded Cagalli who strangely displayed a soft side to her whenever she was alone. He was sure of that because he had been drafted, albeit reluctantly, to become her bodyguard for her morning visit to the ORB memorial. Kisaka had clearly made his reservation know about the whole matter but she was quite adamant in the matter. Him being involved in the matter was a concession made by both of them. That assignment led him becoming a teacher to her on the art of flower arranging, for free of course as either he teach or she hurts his eyes with the atrocious attempts at the art. The art was a bit feminine but it was his mother's legacy and Shinn was determined to keep it alive in his heart.

On the other side, there was Ryanna whose bright outlook in life was something that he welcomed in his life. Besides being attractive, she had shown signs that she was attracted to him. A rather pleasant surprise that he found out two days ago was that she was transferred to his unit to help in the administrative work; she was working as an assistant manager at the Morgenroete's human resource department all that while. Already the two of them had made arrangement to have dinner the day after the mission.

A beep broke his train of thought. An object was approaching the mission area at high speed. He directed the optical sensor to have a better look at the incomingobject.

A large missile flew overhead his mobile armor. He wondered whether the missile was intended to attack the area but then his worry was proven wrong. The warhead slowly disintegrated to reveal a white mobile suit with red trimmings.

"Strike... no, it's a totally different mobile suit," he uttered as Skyknight reconfigured into mobile suit mode.

Both Skyknight and the newcomer whipped out their respective beam rifles and fired glancing shots at each other. The shots were clearly weren't intended to damage; they were warnings so that the other party would retreat from the area. However, both Shinn and the other pilot didn't even think of running away.

"Identify yourself!" Shinn said through the common channel.

"Sven of the 16 AMCS," the pilot replied while his mobile suit brought out a deactivated beam saber as if readying to do close quarter combat.

Shinn's eyes twitched. 16 Autonomous Mobile Combat Squadron was Confederation's elite mobile suit corps with rumors flying around that some of their members were recruited from then defunct Phantom Pain brigade. He wasn't the type to fuss over such details, however. "I'm Asuka of ORB. You're trespassing in a high security area. You must retreat now."

"I was about to say something similar."

Both of their mobile suits traded attacks a few time. During one of the enemy's attacks, the communication console came to life. "Shinn, we have a transmission from UNITY," Erica said.

"Yeah?" Shinn said distractedly as he pushed away his enemy.

"UNITY has asked Confederation to send support to you. Synchronizing IFF code now…"

"Wha…" he asked dazedly as the mobile suit in front of him ceased to be identified as hostile by the computer. At the same time it stopped attacking; its pilot probably received the same message. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he demanded from Erica.

"Sorry, but the info just got in."

Shinn contacted the other pilot. "Sven, is it?"

"Yes. I take it that you also received the same message?" Sven asked.

The Coordinator nodded. "Sorry about the misunderstanding."

"Same here. Perhaps we can continue with our mission then."

"Roger." Shinn said as he signed off and leaned on his seat. "Erica, maybe you can also send the IFF for the other support mobile suit."

"Sorry?"

"There's another one coming my way"

"Shinn…"

"Yea?"

"It's a hostile," Erica said as the newcomer fired at both Skyknight and its new ally.

"SHIT!!!!"

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (28 March 2009)**

1. Hola. Happy Earth Day. Sorry for not replying to the reviews but I'm barely able to scrap the time to write this chapter.


	9. Sleipneir

"This is Skyknight-01, requesting permission for landing."

"Permission, granted."

Shinn looked to the left screen. The dark Strike-lookalike was still following him. "About the other mobile suit…"

"Confederate had put in a request for Strike Noir's to be temporarily stationed at our ship."

"Strike Noir… So that's its name."

After fighting with Strike Noir, the fight against the intruder was rather anti-climatic. The mobile suit, which had attacked ZAFT's base earlier that month to steal its prototype, had let loose a couple of shots and upon seeing that its two enemies were no pushovers, simply hightailed from the area. It was rather annoying how simple the real mission seemed. However, the expeditionary force that arrived caused Shinn to reassess the importance of the mission. Whatever that was located at the coordinate, it was very important for UNITY to simply drop a highly advanced mobile suit from space. The UNITY's mobile suit seemed a tad familiar but Shinn couldn't put a finger on it. Sure enough, the strange DRAGOON-like units which seemed to be fully operational in Earth's gravity made it looked like Strike Freedom. However…

"Raise Angle of Attack by 1 percent," the CIC announced, interrupting his thought.

"Roger."

Shinn could have reconfigured the mobile armor into mobile armor to land on the deck of the carrier in front of him, but he wanted to exit it as soon as possible; the mobile suit mode didn't allow him to do that.

"Switch to full auto."

Two lasers from the carrier began illuminating the mobile armor's wing.

"Switching to full auto for landing sequence."

It was a rather simple process as a push of a button took care of everything from lowering the arrestor hook, adjusting the speed and descent angle and even to taxing the aircraft. All he needed to do was to wait until the mobile armor stopped moving and the OS indicated that it was powering down. Shinn had safely landed on Temujin, one of ORB's newest Hanzo-class carriers. Unlike previous class of carriers used in the second war, it was smaller, only three quarter of size, but it nimbler and employed beam-based CIWS apart from its normal complement of weaponries. Shinn would never find out that it was he that had radically changed ORB's approach to building its surface flotilla when he destroyed its flagship while piloting Impulse.

Along with the change of design, ORB's strategic approach had evolved into favoring smaller but self-contained carrier force. In the first war, a carrier would be escorted by at least seven ships, each serving a dedicated role. But the new force was leaner, relying on only two medium-size multipurpose 'gunboats' to provide additional protection to the carrier. While some had argued it had hampered ORB's long range offensive capability, it made sense tactically because rather than have one or two large forces, ORB employed numerically superior task forces that could strike at the same target from different coordinates, reducing the risk of total wipeout like the one it had suffered in the second war. Plus, its military force was never intended for offensive; apart from the brief stint it had become LOGOS' puppet, ORB's military doctrine emphasized self defense.

Besides, new strategic dictum pointed to the used of airborne carrier such as ORB's own Archangel, Confederate's Cherubim and ZAFT's Minerva to serve as a more effective long range offense platform.

Shinn exited his cockpit. He still couldn't get over the fact that Morgenroete had the capability to build its own carrier force to serve as its testing platform, but it being state-owned military firm probably contribute to the fact. He looked around to see Strike Noir's pilot was already looking around the ship. "Damn show off." He quickly approached the pilot. Upon closer inspection the pilot seemed normal, apart from his dark grey hair. But the pilot had served under Phantom Pain so he had to be an Extended. "Hey, great skill you displayed just now. Considering the previous situation that we're in a reintroduction is in order. The name's Shinn Asuka, but you can call me Shinn."

Sven accepted the offered hand. "Sven Cal Bayan."

Shinn gestured toward the place a fighter pilot would most likely go after each mission, the humble toilet. Sure enough, there the 'bottle' and the flight suit allowed for 'that', but he wasn't comfortable doing it; a sentiment every pilot seemed to hold. "Hey, do you know Stellar?"

Sven raised his eyebrows. "Stellar?"

"Stellar, golden hair, blue dress. You were in Phantom Pain, do you?"

The other person thought for a moment. "You're referring to the cute Extended pilot, do you?" Upon seeing Shinn nod, he shrugged. "Sorry, the Extendeds were under another group. I did saw her before Berlin but that's it."

"I see. Wait… You're not an Extended?"

"No, I'm just a Graduate."

Graduate. Basically a Natural that was trained from a tender young age to become a soldier. Shinn had heard rumors about such training program but it was the first time he met a person that undertook that training face to face.

But the skill that man displayed during the short skirmish hinted at something else from that couldn't be gained from a rigorous training program. Shinn wasn't one to boast about himself but he knew that he was capable enough to fight Kira Yamato to a standstill and both of them were Coordinators. Sven, however could easily keep up with him and the man was quite young as well. He spied Erica coming their way and mentally shrugged.

"I never thought that Confederate is willing to let the Strike Noir MKII to land here," Erica said as she gave an appreciative look at the mobile suit. "Thunderstorm is going to be based on this frame, I suppose?"

Sven nodded. "Yes, but it wouldn't be equipped with Phase Shift armor and the Striker pack couldn't be changed in midair."

The ORB mobile suit designer whistled. "From what I can see, Morgenroete have a very strong contender." She then smirked. "Of course, performance-wise, Skyknight is more adaptable and can be supported by WASPs," she commented highlighting Skyknight's ability to use Weaponry Automated Striker Packs, the computer-guided weapon platforms that was developed during the Second War to be used by Cagalli's mobile suit ORB-00 Shizuka which then became the basis for Skyknight.

"True, But Strike Noir as well as Thunderstorm are not designed to be highly adaptable in term of weapon payload but to operate in harsh environments."

"Er, yeah." The comment was made so offhandedly that Erica couldn't be sure whether he was being sarcastic or not. However, she had to concede his point; she was aware of the trade off when designing Skyknight. Being highly adaptable simply meant sacrificing some resistance to harsh environment. She then noticed another point that left a bitter taste in her mouth. Unlike ZAFT's Integrated Design Bureau and ORB's Morgenroete emphasis on high technology, ANDES went down another route by emphasizing 'cheapability' and lower maintenance cost for its entrant. The other one that used the same approach was STI's bulky and heavy Vanguard.

That reminded her, the STI's prototype had been missing from the testing scene for quite some time already. From what she heard, the mobile suit developed a fatal flaw in the design had had to be repaired. In fact, there was a small probability that the mobile suit will drop out from the competition. While she wouldn't wish such a thing even on her own worst enemy, Erica couldn't help but be happy if such thing happened.

"Erica!" Shinn's voice interrupted her thought. "Good. You were zoning out just now."

"What did you say?"

"I'm going to show," Shinn thumbed the man behind him, "Sven around the ship."

* * *

Kisaka narrowed his eyes as he watched ORB's princess getting ready for her almost daily visit to the memorial. He didn't know why but there was something off with her preparation.

Then he noticed exactly what it was. Cagalli was wearing something that seemed so out of character with her. Rather than the normal dark Burgundy colored jacket with matching pants, she was wearing a simple pastel-colored dress. While an unknown observer might remark that it was normal for someone like her, he knew that wasn't the case. She wore the red-colored suit every single day; the only days that she wouldn't wear them were her days off. She had a dozen sets, so there was no such thing as not wearing them because that they were being cleaned.

Although there was no stipulation that ORB's royalty must wear such suit, Cagalli was quite adamant in her choice of clothing. He knew that she insisted on wearing it because it somehow reminded her of her late father and gave her courage in doing her job.

However, she had been overdoing it. So, when she finally came around, Kisaka was glad.

But somehow he couldn't help wondering about what that had caused the change. Although not really related by blood, Cagalli was very similar to Nuzumi as both could be very 'passionate' and 'opinionated' in certain matters.

"Kisaka, do you think that I was being too arrogant?" Cagalli said as she checked her reflection in a nearby mirror.

"Sorry, my lady?"

"All this while, I visited the memorial as ORB representative. But someone said to me that it was just another name for a country leader or president."

"And who is that wretched person who made such a crude comment?" Kisaka knew the answer but he wanted her to say it.

Cagalli shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Because while the statement make me want to pound him to the ground, later on I think that perhaps he has some points. In a way, I go there as ORB's representative and the daughter of its former leader. Just like the flowers represent the message that I want to tell them, my clothing also told them that I come due to my work. Today, I'm going to wear this to the memorial because I want to be there as myself."

"As long as it suits you," Kisaka said. Truth be told, he was torn between feeling happy that she finally decided to dress a bit normally or be extremely peeved that Shinn Asuka managed to do what the he and the fashion advisors failed to do which was to convince her to readjust her dressing so that it's a bit normal.

"It's probably a bit excessive on my part so…" Cagalli said, a bit unsure about her choice.

"No, I think it's a good idea," her trusted advisor quickly interjected.

It's not that her fashion sense was off balance but a leader isn't just about administering the nation. A real leader embodies the collective identity of the nation. Nuzumi projected a brave front for his people during the first war despite knowing very well that what he was doing will lead the nation to its ruin and he would forever be cursed by few as the fool that killed himself rather than shoulder the burden of rebuilding the razzed country. There was no changing their opinion and there's always two sides to a coin but Kisaka didn't want Cagalli to be seen as another Nuzumi, not because of what happened in the first war but rather Cagalli should be her own person.

Despite the raging conflict between UNITY and its antagonists, the world at large which also includes ORB, is at peace. However, there were still some problems such as economic and social problems, problems that were of concern to its population. And that was why Cagalli was needed, not as a brave general that had piloted her own mobile suit in the war but rather the kind person that she was. However, as long as she didn't shed her image she would continue be seen as Nuzumi's daughter's.

But for the life of him, Kisaka could never figure what exactly did Shinn said to her that caused a rather massive change on her part. But it was a good thing, he supposed, so perhaps he had no grounds to complain. The thought of that young man reminded him why Cagalli was preparing to go to the monument. After the incident that almost took Cagalli's life, Kisaka managed to extract a promise from her that she would only go to the monument with at least an escort. She didn't like going off with a full entourage so that left her with Kisaka or Asuka. Cagalli knew very well that he was supposed to attend a meeting that morning so that left only Asuka.

"What do you think, Kisaka?" the ORB representative said while checking her reflection on a mirror.

"You're looking great, my lady," the wizened man closed his eyes and rubbed his temple a bit.

"Are you feeling tired? If you want, you can have the rest of the day off."

"Er, no. I just remembered something important that I need to do today."

"Well, I'm off then. See you later."

"Yes, my lady," he said while watching her left the room. She didn't like being patronized and dotted on so if he sent her off, she would be very annoyed.

Despite his answer to her, Kisaka was very tempted to take the day off. He had imagined something so outlandish that it boggled his mind. He had imagined seeing Cagalli slightly adjusting her hair and twirling in front of the mirror to check herself; what he had imagined was so weird that it was bordering on bizarre.

There was no way Cagalli would do such a thing.

* * *

Lacus shook her head at the diagram. The world was still recovering from peace but yet that thing had to turn up.

"No doubt about it," Mark said, "It's a Pandora box."

"It's a good thing that ORB and Confed managed to send their respective prototypes to the place," Canaver said. "There was a slight scuffle when the prototype that attacked ZAFT base that day appeared but it retreated soon after."

"Okay," a man said, "So what info do we have on the current Pandora box?"

Canaver smiled blankly. "Which one would you like to hear first: the bad news or the bad news?"

"Er, isn't it the good news or the bad news."

"No. The bad news or the bad news," the former PLANTs chairperson commented. "The first bad news is we as the human species have been screwed up royally."

There was a hush of murmurs inside the room at the ramification of her statement.

Someone finally got the courage to ask her to clarify her statement. Carnaver revealed that what Pandora box contained was a record of what the extra terrestrials who referred themselves as 'The Observers' did on Earth. According to their study, humankind was supposed to reach another evolutionary path, totally disproving the SEED theory that some people such as the famous Reverend Malchio supported.

As expected, everyone then started to say something and it took a full five minute to calm everyone down.

Then another person asked whether APEX was the real evolutionary path. To that question, Carnaver shook her head. She told the room that APEX was merely a stepping stones for a greater emergent species. According to the decoded documents, the so-called 'Pathfinders' would appear and then they would usher in the revolution of what had been dubbed as of 'Neo-sapiens'. In order to ensure that the evolution would happen, The Observers conducted experiments that brought forth people that would later be known as APEX holders

Carnaver continued on even after she finished explaining about the records, pushing forth an idea that she was pondering upon the discovery of the records. The Observers predicted that the evolution would be accelerated by the introduction of APEX holders. However, that didn't seem to happen. Even in the current time, APEX holders were rare. Hence, she came up with a postulate. The APEX trait was supposed to be a secret even to those who carry them but as the time passes people began to notice that the APEX trait holders were slightly different. Fearing the unknown, the people would inevitably hunt them down.

"So, you're telling me that the witches in The Great Witch Hunt are APEX holders?" a woman interrupted.

"There's a strong probability," Carnaver replied.

"Wait…" Lacus said, cutting her off. "While this is an important matter and I don't wish to interrupt, I just remembered something that bothered me for quite some time. How do we find out about this Pandora box?"

"We got the information from our Intel," Mark answered.

"That's the question," Lacus insisted. "How could our intelligence come up with such information? Apart from that, how did our enemy end up searching for the same thing, and at the same place?"

The pink princess didn't like that look of realization from everyone.

* * *

"We receive a special order," Meyrin said while entering some information into the computer. Behind her, Heine had just finished putting on his apron and was walking to a nearby tap to wash his hands.

"Early this morning? Club special or is it Scorching Earth?"

"It's the _other_ special order,"

"Oh. So, what's on the menu?" his business partner replied as he lathered his hands with disinfectants. Cleanliness is next to godliness after all.

"Search and identify." The communication expert turned businesswoman narrowed her eyebrows. "Higher ups are a bit uncomfortable regarding splinter cell Sleipneir's ability to gain access to information regarding our enemy."

"That cell? A bit too active, I think."

I-9, UNITY's Intelligence Bureau had employed various splinter cells all around Earthsphere to collect information pertaining to possible threats. Due to security reasons, the cells are highly autonomous with the only link that existed between I-9 is the information exchange. The cell members knew that they were working for I-9 and how to send information to it through a very secure channel. In return, the agency only knew that which cells are under it along with their handlers and how to send payment through the same channel.

Out of all those cells, Sleipneir particularly stood up like a sore thumb. No one even knew when it was formed except that it was already entered into the agency's database despite not having any handler, the term given to the contact person who communicates with the cell. However, in just three months after someone _noticed _its existence, it had already become the leading provider of information to I-9. While that was a good thing, it caused everyone to wonder about how it managed to acquire information pertaining to Gilbert's sympathizers so easily. Efforts to identify the cell using the payments made to its accounts were unsuccessful because the accounts were untouched.

Her receiving the assignment simply meant that I-9 had exhausted their efforts and had to turn to her.

It was exactly two days later at 3.00 a.m. when a beep from a computer near her bed roused Meyrin from her slumber. Quickly grabbing a can of caffeine-laden cola with one hand and the other hand typing some commands into the computer, she wondered about her rival. Would Sleipneir hijacked thousands of computers without their owners knowing for the transaction or will they resort to more expensive but harder to detect physical ghost transmitters?

Either way, she wasn't that worried as she had done both when serving onboard Minerva and thus had no problem tracking the culprit.

She took a long sip but stopped midway as her computer displayed a message on the screen. Sleipneir had transmitted a message to UNGARD about a new assignment. She quickly made a digital copy of the message and then transferred it for her program to decode.

That was one of the reasons why UNGARD was quite reluctant to engage her service. While she didn't work expensive, one of the mutual understandings between the two of them was that she could decrypt any encoded message that she came across while doing her work. To UNGARD it was a challenge to keep its documents secured while she viewed encrypted documents as complex puzzles to unravel; she liked puzzles.

A window popped up showing that the file had been decrypted.

She didn't pay attention because she had almost identified the location of Sleipneir. The trail was already pointing to a single source and that was… Meyrin did a double take. Sleipneir was sending message from UNGARD's computer.

It didn't make any sense.

Then her eyes finally caught the message that she had ignored. A computer Trojan had been detected in the decrypted file. She quickly dissected the offending file and couldn't believe what she saw.

There was no way of currently identifying Sleipneir because they had planted a Trojan horse on UNGARD's computer to create a circular transmission. That way, whenever Sleipneir transferred any information, the UNGARD's computer will resend it to itself and to other computers all over the world that it would be quite impossible to track where the real culprit was.

Meyrin sighed, switched off the computer and went back to bed to sleep. She would be chewing UNGARD's security experts for the next week starting tomorrow and she figured that they would prefer her to be in a better mood when she did that. She might be a gentle person but there was no forgiving the so-called professionals who let the supposedly secure UNGARD network be infected by a rather simple computer virus.

* * *

Two mobile suits fought as the endless canvas all around them depicted other mobile suits fighting against smaller but nimble spacecrafts.

"**Somehow I feel that you're a bit different than before, Kira Yamato. Have you been doing something?"**

Both Guardian and Inquisitor clashed swords before retreating a bit. Even in the heat of the battle, Kira noticed that he was still inside his cockpit, unlike the out-of-body experience he had when the two of them had met. But curiously, the other Kira seemed to be wearing his cloth when he was still studying in Heliopolis years ago. That was strange since a flight suit would have been a necessity for a combat mobile suit pilot. Apart from that, he couldn't see the inside of Inquistor's cockpit; it was as if **Kira **was merely floating in space. Deciding to file those findings for later reexamination, he focused to the matter at hand which was defeating Inquisitor. "Yes. I've been practicing to defeat you!"

"**No. There's not much different in your fighting technique. There's something else." Kira **renewed his offensive and nicked Guardian's left shoulder. **"That's it! You've been trying to synchronize yourself!" **He laughed maniacally and resumed attacking. **"I can't believe it! You're still trying to find that wench? Do you really think that by increasing your connection, you'll find her?"**

"Increasing my connection? What are you talking about?"

"**Don't patronize me. Do you think that I wouldn't know that your interfacing with her clones has dramatically improved?"**

"How?"

"**I told you before; we're joined by the red string of fate." **

Suddenly it occurred to Kira that his clone somehow knew the link between his dream and finding Fllay. He began pushing Inquisitor back with fervor using his beam sabers. "You know something about finding her? Tell me!"

"**You're a fool to think that I will do something like that!" **Inquisitor narrowly evaded the attempt to decapitate its head but the proximity of the beam saber melted a small part on its face. **"Damn!"**

"Tell me!" Kira commanded as he continued on, not really realizing that he had entered SEED mode by accident.

"**I'm not going to tell someone who's about to lose his life!"**

Kira gritted his teeth in annoyance as his mobile suit maneuvered itself into the position to strike down its opponent. If his clone wouldn't tell him, then so be it. He would find his own way. However, there was no way he's letting a deranged and dangerous enemy stay alive to endanger the world. "I'll strike you down."

"**Can you strike me down, Kira?" **a feminine voice asked softly.

The voice nearly caused Kira to have a heart attack. Right in front of him was the girl that he was searching for all those time. "Fllay," he uttered softly.

The visage of Fllay disappeared as **Kira **emerged. **"YOU'RE MINE!" **he said as Inquisitor reared back to stab Guardian.

Meanwhile, the real Kira just stared as the mobile suit in front of him slowly moved backward and activated its beam saber. Trapped in his own world while the events outside took place slowly, Kira knew that he was in a morbid danger but somehow his mind was trying to figure out the strange sensation that he had felt. Perhaps it has something to do with what his impostor had said. He felt a very faint connection to _her_. Then his eyesight blurred into oblivion.

"_Tell me what happened." A man's voice said calmly from his left side as his sight recovered to reveal that he was looking at a metal wall. "I can deduce what happened here but I would like to hear your side of the story."_

"_Creuset?" Kira thought questioningly. "But isn't he's dead."_

_Against his will, he felt his head turning toward the man. It was indeed Creuset. The crazed clone of Al La Flaga was floating few feet from him, his hands crossed as if waiting for the answer._

"_My superiors will demand answers and I'm trying to help you," the man continued to coax. "After all," he said while pointing to behind Kira, "you, who were a civilian a mere few months ago, killed my highly-trained subordinate by smashing his head against that bulkhead many times. The scent of blood still lingers, you know, and I have to put in a request to have us transferred to another room."_

"_I'm not sorry for what I did," To his surprise, he replied but the female voice that came out certainly wasn't his. It was then he realized that he wasn't in his own body but somebody else's. However, he could feel the intense anger and intense sense of violation that he felt nauseated by them._

"_Directing your hatred toward me is useless because I'm not your enemy. The bastard that you killed, what did he do?"_

"_He tried to rape me," the female voice retorted. _

'_Rape her?' Kira thought to himself. 'Who is this woman?'_

"_I see," Creuset said with faux sympathy. "But honestly I thought that you're not so adverse to accept advances from someone like that. He's quite good looking, you know."_

"_I don't care. No one else will touch me and live," the woman growled. _

"_No one else?" Creuset questioned. "Don't tell me that you have…" he suddenly stopped. "Certainly the symptoms fit in with what Durandal described…" he mused. "Rabid eyes, Coordinator-like strength, wolf-like instinct… he would be ecstatic to hear about this, but…" The masked man smiled at the woman. "You're an interesting one, Allster." _

'_Allster?' Kira questioned. 'But that name…' He didn't finish the sentence as the realization hit him like a blunt sledgehammer. He was relieving Fllay's memory._

_The masked man continued. "What I am going to tell you must remain between us. I'm going to return you to the Alliance with the secret to defeating ZAFT."_

"_The secret to defeating ZAFT?" _Kira felt the fog of anger disappeared and was replaced with curiosity.

"_Yes and that would be," Creuset stopped for a moment, "yes, that thing will help too. When the opportunity comes, you will deliver a top secret plan to Alliance's High Command. Remember, only you alone must deliver it."_

"_Why?" Fllay asked. _

_The man merely smirked. "Don't worry about minor details. You want to return to him, don't you?"_

"_Return to him…" _

_That was the last thing Kira saw before his sight blurred once more. _

The next thing he knew, he saw Inquisitor's beam saber was a few meters away from piercing his cockpit. It would be too late to try and block it.

Then a precise shot knocked the weapon away. Seemingly startled, Inquisitor's pilot moved the mobile suit away.

"_Kira!" _ELEANA called out.

Knowledge regarding what happened in the previous two seconds entered Kira's mind. ELEANA detected that his brainwave dramatically changed its frequency to Alpha wave dominant, leading it to conclude that he was in some sort of hallucination and wouldn't be able to defend against Inquisitor. Thus, one of the units that had defeated the clone's underling that it was fighting came to provide support; effectively countermanding Kira's order for them not to interfere in his fight. Self preservation, he decided, because other ELEANA units depended on the main unit to be operational.

"_That is incorrect. Self preservation implies not entering any combat situation at all,"_ the artificial intelligence commented in what seemed to be a chiding manner.

"Sorry."

"_He's coming!"_

Inquisitor charged Guardian with its remaining beam saber and in the latter responded in kind.

"**Looks like you're lucky that I was caught off guard." Kira **said.** "Well, the mission has been compromised even from the very beginning, that's to be expected. However, even if I can't finish my mission, I can at least finish you." **

"You wish," Kira said as he felt his senses expanded and his mind became more focused; he had entered SEED mode. He noted other hostile units and expanded his perception to cover the whole area. In less than a second, he went through all strategies to fight them. "Take all of them down," he whispered.

"_UNDERSTOOD!"_ all ELEANA units acknowledged. Five seconds later there was an explosion which followed by another and another; ten seconds later only Guardian and Inquisitor remained in the field.

"**Damn you…" **

"As you can see," Kira began as all ELEANA units converge on the remaining enemy, "you're outnumbered." He frowned a bit as an unbidden fact appeared in his mind, "And there's no running away this time because your Mirage Colloid supply is low."

**Kira **kept quiet but a look of surprise was evident on his face.

"And somehow I know that you don't have SEED."

"**What are you? A mind reader?" Kira ** remarked in a voice that slightly betrayed his annoyance.

Kira would have replied but then he saw that Inquisitor was reaching for its two beam rifles and as if responding to him, two ELEANAs promptly dispatched the weapons. "I don't know, but looks like it's enough to defeat you." Slowly, Guardian moved in to apprehend Inquisitor. "And you can forget about activating the beam saber. Now I can block it even at point blank."

"**So you're going to catch instead of killing me, just like a good little boy you are?"**

"I'll have you telling me everything that you know."

**Kira **closed his eyes. **"I see… In that case, I have to refuse your invitation." **

"I'm not giving you any choice."

"**I know and I still refuse." **

Just as Guardian was about to take hold of Inquisitor, the Destined's mobile suit twisted on its axis and kicked Guardian toward two nearby ELEANAs. It then turned at another two and fired its CIWS forcing them to retreat due to their lack of reactive armor. **"You should have looked into your crystal ball longer, Kira Yamato; you would know that you will never defeat me!" **He opened his eyes to reveal red orbs in them. Inquisitor moved its head to right to evade a shot from behind. It then moved backward, grabbed the ELEANA unit that made the shot and threw it at Guardian.

"What's up with his?" Kira questioned himself. "It's not APEX…" But the boost in the other Kira's ability seemed to correlate with the eyes.

"**It's a pity really that you're wasting your time just chasing after a lowlife even though you can achieve your destiny if you joined us."**

Kira felt his blood began to boil. "I can't forgive you for saying that!" he said as Guardian engaged its boosters to give chase but then Inquisitor did something unexpected. It moved toward Guardian, activated its remaining beam saber and threw it. Kira wanted to evade the attack but then he remembered about the two ELEANAs. They were temporarily disabled and couldn't move.

**Kira** knew that the two units in no position to defend themselves; he used that knowledge to force Kira to remain where he was.

There was a momentary sparks as the beam saber made contact with Guardian's shield. When he pushed it away, he saw that Inquisitor had already changed into mobile armor and was speeding away.

"**As a present for letting me off, I'll tell you something in return as a present. The more you interface with your mobile suit, the stronger your connection with her will be." **

As he had expected, the information had temporarily dampened Kira Yamato's will power to chase after him, enough for him to leave the place unopposed. It was a simple psychological manipulation on his part. He knew that the real Kira would grasp at any information on the wench and he used that fact to his advantage by tempting the man even more. That was how he managed to confound Kira when he used _her_ image; he could almost feel Kira's cognitive functions went overdrive at that time. At the end, when he needed to make a getaway, **Kira **simply revealed a little bit of information and it satiated Kira Yamato's psychological need.

A grin appeared on **Kira's **lips. He wasn't lying when he said that the more the other Kira interface with his own mobile suit, the stronger the connection the latter and that wench. However, he purposely omitted the fact that it would greatly aid in his own plan as well.

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (20 April 2009)**

1. It's been a while. Sorrym that's all I can say for now.


	10. Prelude to the day before tomorrow

Floating inside his glowing sphere, **Kira **looked into the video of his fight with the real Kira Yamato, gritting his teeth as he did so. Even though he managed to get away from Kira, he did so by doing something that was very unexpected. Even though he had replayed the video thrice, he failed to dispute what he saw but only to prove it. He made a dismissing gesture and the video went away only to be replaced with another one displaying his own reflection.

There was no denying that he had red pupils.

While his leaders were ecstatic by that revelation as they believed they finally had the perfect weapon to defeat Kira Yamato, **Kira **felt otherwise. The only reason why he developed such ability was because somehow or another, Kira Yamato had a dormant ability that surpassed SEED, the ability of a Pathfinder, the true 'Coordinator' as predicted by 'The Observers'. If that was the case then it would be a matter of time before he manifested that ability and when it happened, **Kira's **plan would be for naught as the latter could easily see through everything, every strategy, every deception that the he had prepared.

**Kira **clucked his tongue in annoyance. He realized that telling the Coordinator how to strengthen his psychic ability was a very bad mistake as it accelerated the awakening process even further.

He made another gesture and multiple databases popped up, even those containing information not known to his masters.

Somehow, or someway, he had to accelerate his own plan. The Destineds could easily remain safely hidden, bidding its own time. In fact, the leadership was considering doing just that as the attacks by UNITY had effectively sapped its strength. But to **Kira**, that wouldn't do, not if he was to succeed. The Destineds must take the centre stage. The only way to achieve that is dangle a carrot large and juicy enough that it couldn't help but be enticed.

He saw something that piqued his interest. The information that he was reading about belonged to 'The Observers'; The Destineds didn't know about its existence as it was encrypted into his system, allowing access only to him as he was fully connected with it.

What he had read caused him to smile. Yes, that would do.

Suddenly an unpleasant thought crossed his mind. What if the reason why his eyes were red was not because Kira Yamato had that latent ability but due to something else? He stopped himself before he went further. Such thing should never happen because if it was true then his plan had already failed even from the very beginning.

* * *

"Imagine that your opponent is the fish that you have to catch," Shinn muttered as his mobile armour let loose a beam shot a Strike Noir.

As expected the black mobile suit swerved to evade the shot. It then dropped to just above the sea level and turned toward Skyknight to respond in kind.

"SHIT!" Shinn cursed as a shot nearly hit his cockpit. Only a last minute airbraking saved him from that predicament. While the moved caused him to feel as if a giant elephant sat on his body, he had to do it to avoid being hit.

Skyknight dropped its altitude until it was side by side with its black compatriot. Although the air pressure was more near the sea level compared to the previous altitude, Skyknight's aerodynamic reduced the drag on it; Shinn could see that Sven was struggling to keep up with him. That reminded him of the time where he fought Windams when Alliance ambushed Minerva. At that time, he had wondered why they were moving rather slowly compared to his Impulse. It was until Murdoch explained to him, while he was being bored to death waiting for the fish to eat his bait, the difference between each faction's mobile suit design philosophy.

Shinn grinned. Sven had miscalculated, giving him the advantage in the fight.

Skyknight reconfigured into its mobile suit mode. The move caused the aerodynamics to shift and the emerging mobile suit lost much of its air speed. However, that was what Shinn intended to do as it allowed him to aim his weapons at Strike Noir. "Sayonara," he said while pressing the red trigger button. "It's been nice knowing you."

The beams were supposed to hit Strike Noir and they would have if not for the mobile suit to spin on its axis. As a result of that, a bit of its hardened wing clipped the surface of the sea and caused a wall of sprayed water that blocked the incoming shots. The unexpected and rather unorthodox moved caused Shinn to be caught by surprise. The former Zaft pilot had not forgotten the reason why beam weapons were ineffective in water. If beam shots were used under water, the shots would have lost their ionizing properties. However, he never would have thought Sven to be utilizing that knowledge for use in combat. That would have explained why the man chose to fight at sea level despite knowing that Skyknight would have an advantage in term of maneuverability.

Shinn didn't let the surprise prevent him for taking the next step, however. He quickly aimed his weapons and fired again, timing them to hit Strike Noir just as the wall of water to recede. He knew that Sven wouldn't dare execute the move again as it would put a strain on the mobile suit frame. It was as he expected, the black mobile suit didn't repeat the defensive move.

However, it didn't happen. Instead, Strike Noir reduced its speed further and rolled until it ended up behind Skyknight. While Shinn was searching left and right for him, Sven calmly let the targeting computer did it work before pressing the trigger.

Shinn's scream of anguish filled the radio wave.

"Damn you, Sven! Do you know what you did?"

"I just killed you?" the man asked calmly.

"You just cost me five hours of my life having to hear to Erica and Murdoch's lectures. Erica's going to chew my head for this and I hope it wouldn't be literally."

"At least you're still alive."

"Yeah," Shinn, inside his cockpit watching his calm rival, grumpily agreed. The shot was supposed to killed him if not for the fact the beam was a 'blank'.

While the adrenaline rush was real, the two of them weren't in danger short of accidentally running out of power in which the battle would end. Their beam weapons have been adjusted so that they wouldn't have ionizing properties, and thus wouldn't destroy anything that they hit. Because of that, both Skyknight and Strike Noir could be said to be waging an aerial later-tag instead of dogfighting.

"Since the simulation is over, should we return to the base.?" Sven asked, referring to their floating airport.

"Let's."

As he expected, Erica wasn't pleased that the Confederation mobile suit triumphed hers even though it was quite obvious from the fight that the win was a lucky one. Of course, in a battle luck counted as a determining factor but she didn't have to act as if the outcome of the Rimane competition hinged solely on a mock battle. She seemed to have taken the fight against the Confederate's mobile suit a bit too personally.

On the positive side, Murdoch actually praised him, as evidenced by the older man's less than stinging words. Heck, he even had a normal slap on the back. A chat with the technician revealed that Murdoch was quite satisfied with how Shinn took the machine tuned by him to the maximum.

A day later, as a helicopter landed to bring both Sven and him to ORB for the needed R&R, Ryanna was there to wave him off. The young man was rather sad that she couldn't go with him as her shift rotation wasn't due but at least the goodbye kiss by her made his spirit soar. While both of them weren't official yet, it was just a matter of time and he couldn't wait until they meet again. Maybe he was bit overboard for thinking that he missed being away from her for a week but he felt lucky being given an opportunity to know her.

* * *

"Lord Hilbert, our research division had finally broken through the encryption surrounding one of the Pandora Box's segments!" the man announced rather excitedly to the man in front of him. After all, he was rather proud that he had been the one to deliver the message to the leader of their noble group.

Hilbert smiled pleasantly. "Good. So what we managed to find out?"

"We found out Noah's Ark."

The Destined's leader raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Quickly understanding the unasked question, his subordinate realized his error. "Forgive me, sir. What I was saying is that we managed to locate the coordinate for the ship that brought the owner of 'Pandoras' here.

The Destineds never knew the who or what the extraterrestrials, or as they referred to as Pandoras, were as well their intentions for coming to Earth, unlike its adversary, UNITY. However, it did know that they brought along with them technological advances mankind never dreamed of. Now, it looked like that its dream of unifying mankind toward a peaceful future seemed a step closer as it had finally obtained the location of the extraterrestrials' mothership. That prospect had excited Hilbert. "Do we have further information on the ark?" he asked coolly.

"We obtained a diagram."

At a push of a button a holographic projection showing the ship's diagram appeared in front of them.

"Rather large."

"Yes sir. We estimated it to be at least six kilometers in length and one kilometer in width."

The Destineds' leader allowed a smile to appear on his face. "You have done well, finding us this… 'Noah's Ark."

His subordinate beamed with pride. "Thank you, sir!"

"We will marshal all of our resources towards acquiring this ship. Judging from what we have seen so far there's a real possibility that we can use the ship to further our cause." Hilbert thought for a moment. "However, UNITY mustn't know of the ship's existence. Arrange for our sleepers to plan for terror attacks in all major cities."

"But that will reveal the existence of our cells." It went unsaid that a plan at such a large scale would draw the attention of UNITY. It would be possible that even before the plan was executed, the cells would be wiped off.

While the cells were independent of each other, it would be quite easy to find out their modus operandi. Apart from that, there's the 'Slepneir' problem that The Destineds had to contend with. The faction only managed to find out about the existence of the best I-9's information source through its spy that managed to infiltrate deep into the covert organization. Sadly enough, the agent was taken out less than a week after he sent the report.

Hilbert struck a thinking pose for a minute, pretending to think of the ramification of the order he would give even though he already knew what it entailed. "I'm rather disturbed at it myself but right now we have no choice. For the good of mankind," he stopped for the added psychological effect, "we must have the Noah's Ark at all cost. Once we acquire the ship, it wouldn't matter what UNITY tries to do."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Clad in traditional Japanese clothing, Shinn eyed his masterpiece-in-creation with critical eyes belonging to an assistant master of the trade. When his mother was alive, he was forced to spend incredulously long hours with her just to find out how to put a single flower into the arrangement as the skill could only be gained through experience and not knowledge. While at that time he resented having to learn it slowly as being a Coordinator wouldn't really affect the ability to master the trade, he was glad that that he did. He would protect his mother's legacy. "You look good wearing a yukata," he commented, not really meaning what he said.

"Damn. I still can't see the logic behind wearing such clothing in order to learn about this," Cagalli said while examining her dress.

"Language, Attha-_sama_," he chided, emphasizing the suffix as he knew that it would annoy her. "If the arranging the flowers only involves bunching all of them together, I would have prepared a cheap certificate stating that you have attained the highest level and throw you out of my mother's place long time ago." He still had trouble believing that he had to alternate between test-piloting Skyknight and becoming her bodyguard cum flower arrangement instruction, but life was just like that.

"Still, I'm surprised by how much you know, since well, you're a man."

"I can't believe Attha-_sama_ would make such a gender-discriminating statement," he said coolly as he turned to examine his arrangement from another side while visualizing how the flowers would reflect surrounding light, projecting his intended message. "But maybe it's because we have so many macho women around that I have to do it in order to ensure that the art will not die."

"Hey!"

Ignoring her protest, Shinn raised his head to look at her work and quickly averted his gaze as soon as he saw it. "Please take away the flowers. We'll redo it again."

"Why should I? It's as functional as it should and that's that."

"If you want to tell your imprisoned former fiancé that 'may your ass be pierced by a thousand years of pain' then I have no problem with it. But we're going to send the bouquet to the monument so I doubt that you want the bouquet to be conveying such message." Shinn scratched the back of his head. "Well, I can always use some laugh so if you insist on that arrangement I'm okay with it. Just remind me to sit away from you later on. Plus I'm not going to admit to being your teacher in this art."

"All right! All right! I get the message," Cagalli grumbled as she fisted the flowers in the arrangement ruthlessly and threw them away in frustration.

Shinn sighed. While some people may claim that he had some anger issues, he never let them interfere with something as sacred as flower arranging. But seeing what the woman in front of him did, he was tempted to get a big wooden mallet or something and flatten her like a pancake. Who did she think she was, treating the flowers like that? Then he caught himself. He had almost lost his own cool. After taking a slow breath, he moved to where the flowers were thrown. He picked each one of them, examining them for damages. Only five could be reused. "My mother used to say that each flower has its own characteristics and nuances," he said as he handed them to her.

Cagalli didn't respond but took them off his hand except a sunflower he held.

The Coordinator took another sunflower and held it side by side with the one in his hand. "Can you tell the difference between these two?"

"No. In fact I think that they're the same."

Shaking his head slowly, Shinn gestured toward the first flower. "The first one has a bigger stem but the second one has a better flower. Since you choose the first flower over the rest earlier, it showed that you favored a more stable foundation rather than the appearance."

"You can know just looking at that?"

"Flower arranging isn't really about the bouquet but more on the arrangement. Knowledge of everything involved in the preparation, the arrangement itself and what to do afterward. Everything. For example, I can tell you that arranging the flowers wearing jeans and a t-shirt wouldn't probably affect the end message compared to wearing traditional clothing. In fact dressing isn't really enforced in flower arrangement."

"Then why did you make me wear different clothing when arranging the flowers and even while presenting them?"

"So that you appreciate what you did. Like I told you, it's the process, not the end result that matters. In truth, the clothing is more for our own good rather than the receivers. Because when you do things reverently, you will pour those feelings into the arrangement and that in turn will be felt by the receivers," he continued, quoting what his mother said after smacking his head with a fan because he wore a short and a t-shirt that said 'kiss my ass, sucker!' to do a flower arrangement. Of course that was just a phase he went through while growing up, Shinn told himself.

Cagalli nodded as she began to understand the whole thing. Then she remembered something. "Say, Shinn, can I ask a question?"

"Okay," he answered despite not really liking the way she asked him.

"Why do you hate my father so much? You had mentioned that you just had a severe disagreement with Kira but every time my father was mentioned, you will snort and looked away."

Shinn put a hand on his face. "Not again…" he groaned. "I thought that we agree to disagree on this whole matter. You know, that part where I think your father is a galactic-level asshole and you think that I'm the biggest jerk in the universe?"

"But I need to know."

The young Coordinator sighed and slowly put his arrangement at a wall some distance away from the two of them. "Fine. I could always use a timeout at a local prison."

"SHINN!"

"That's the truth. I say what's on my mind, you get mad, I get mad, you insult me and I insult you back, you slug me and I slug you, in the end you will be sleeping in the hospital with those bumps on your face while I sleep in the prison with the bumps on my face."

Cagalli considered his words for a moment. "Fine, I wouldn't get mad." Upon seeing the incredulous look from the man in front of her, she frowned. "All right, I will get mad but I promise not insult you."

"If you even open your mouth to interrupt me I will end my explanation and you hold your peace forever."

"… Deal."

Shinn stared at her before finally taking a deep breath. "I hate him because his action inadvertently led to my family's death. You may not believe me but I spent a year trying to analyze his action in order to come up with an explanation to appease myself, you know, maybe his action caused the war to end faster but in the end I failed. In fact, I come to the conclusion in his quest to uphold his ideals, he had betrayed everyone in ORB," he thought for a moment, "probably everyone in Earthsphere. In fact, if I have to say so, his action, while probably seemed to be the best action to him, is the worst."

"Why?" Cagalli shot out before realizing the mistake she made.

Even though he glared at her, Shinn didn't stop. "If you consider all the information available at that time, Nuzumi's action was taken when ORB was at the highest and the best position to affect the first war and perhaps caused it to end even faster. Both Alliance and ZAFT had exhausted their resources and were entrenched in their own respective strongholds. At that time there Alliance had no access to N-Jammer Canceller while ZAFT wouldn't be the first one to fire the WMDs. So the war would have remained a conventional one. So in order to break through the stalemate, Alliance needs a launching facility and…"

"It had ORB in its sight."

"You really hardheaded, don't you Attha-_sama_, for going back on your promise?"

Cagalli closed her mouth.

"Anyway, it is as you said. Well, there's that other one in Panama but ORB seemed to be an easier target because of it being a small island. However, this is both Alliance and your father's oversight. At that everyone knew that Alliance send the bulk of its remaining fleet here, anchoring inside ORB's territorial waters." Shinn saw that Cagalli was having trouble keeping silent and shook his head. "Okay, fine, you can talk but remember your promise not to scream or slug me."

"I thought that they were outside ORB's water."

"No, they're not. While some perceived the action of setting anchor inside ORB's water is a clear threat, the actual truth is that they had to do it. Remember, they had just fielded Strike Daggers. Since Daggers are battery-powered mobile suits and the earlier flight system liked to guzzle the battery dry, they will risk their mobile suits crashing even flying to ORB. For a flight pack to carry a forty ton mobile suit at a high speed, twenty five kilometers is quite a distance to cover."

"I still don't see where you are going with this."

"By being inside ORB territory without permission, the fleet is already considered as hostile invaders. Would the world look down on ORB's action to proactively destroy the fleet before it can cause harm to the country?"

"No but doing so will risk revenge from Alliance."

"I don't recall any Alliance troop shaking hands with everyone and giving them candy after your father blew himself up along with his followers. In fact, your statement is fundamentally flawed. If the fleet was destroyed, two things would have happened. First, Alliance's naval strength would have weakened considerably. Second, it wouldn't have enough strength to overrun ZAFT's base and recapture its linear driver. Also, that action while seemingly wrong but in truth a valid one, strengthened ORB's position as no faction will see it as a pushover and in fact ORB will become a check-and-balance power."

"I didn't see that."

Shinn sniffed. "Of course not, Attha-_sama_. You were shown that rather than protecting the lives of the people, it's more righteous and honorable to blow up oneself in a giant and very expensive explosion." He then crossed his arms. "But to be fair, I will hear any good and logical reason you can give regarding your father's action beside it being an honorable thing to do."

She opened her mouth, wanting so much to deny what was being said when to her horror, she couldn't. Shinn's explanation somehow made sense. Even the part where Alliance had to park their fleet inside ORB's territory was also well explained. Of course, she could refute it by saying that the fleet had the three prototypes and could attack using missiles but that wasn't accurate at all. Although the three were superior than ORB's Astray, they could easily be kept in check by Freedom and Justice. As for the missiles, they could always be shot down by ORB's defense system, minimizing the damage to the islands and reducing the casualties.

No, she got it wrong again. She had automatically assumed that ORB would prevail by being totally defensive. What Shinn had put forth was offensive defense. If ORB had attacked the fleet for invading it waters, its action was totally acceptable in the eyes of everyone. Of course, since the world was in a war, that didn't matter much. Even when ORB was invaded in the first war, no one dared to criticize the action except ZAFT and to a much lesser degree, Scandanivian Kingdom.

If ORB had attacked the fleet first using its right to defend its territory from the external threat, it could easily cripple the fleet. Even though it had far fewer mobile suits, it had Freedom and Justice. Besides, the Astrays could easily trash out the Daggers which were not only inferior in technology but had very poor flight maneuverability. In fact, if timed right, the attack would have ensured most of the mobile suits destroyed along with their carriers. At that time even the three prototypes could easily be defeated by prolonging the fight to exhaust their power.

Interestingly enough, despite what it seemed, the action could actually ensured ORB's neutrality in the first war. Cagalli could even see how her country could become the check-and-balance in the conflict. Once defeated, Alliance wouldn't even have the capacity to retaliate as doing so would require shuffling its power, risking land grab attacks from ZAFT. In fact, by having Freedom and Justice seen leading the attack was enough to give it and its Blue Cosmos masters reasons not to retaliate for the fear of ORB joining forces with ZAFT. Since Morgenroete had supplied a considerable number of crucial mobile suit components to Alliance, that would have ensured the faction's mobile suit strength be weakened considerably. In turn, the fact that Alliance needed Morgenroete's technology could easily explain why its facility was left intact in first war.

Shinn couldn't have possibly known about it but his statement about attacking the fleet could have led to a different ending to the war wasn't too far off either. If the Alliance was defeated, it couldn't marshal enough resources for a long space war. That in turn would have minimized the chance Creuset had to send the diagrams N-Jammer Canceller to Blue Cosmos. Like Shinn said, the war probably remained a conventional one, eventually leading to a stalemate. There ORB, as a neutral country, could have play the role of a peace negotiator.

True, Shinn's arguments could be refuted by saying that if ORB wasn't defeated the existence of LOGOS as well as Durandal's ambition would never be revealed. However, there was no way of ensuring that. In fact, it could also be argued that if ORB had mediated the peace, calamities such as terrorist crashing Junius Seven's remains on Earth would never have happened.

After fully deliberating Shinn's argument, she slowly raised her head at him only to see that he was making another bouquet. "Why are you here?"

"Making sure that you don't make a fool out of yourself with the flower arrangement," Shinn answered absently, transfixed in his own work.

"No! I mean that's not what I want to know. Why are you staying here, in ORB if you don't like my father?"

"Well, Athrun basically hit it into my head the idea that your father and ORB are not the same entity. So, it's unfair for me to forsake ORB just because I don't like one of its dead leaders." Well, that wasn't the real reason because he had been manipulated into attacking ORB by Durandal. Hence, despite some misgivings he had, Shinn returned to the country fully prepared to be put on trial for what he did. To his surprise, he was let go basically scot-free. Not really satisfied with that, he remained, wanting to help in the country's rebuilding as his penance. "By the way, if you're wondering why, it's because you're loud and annoying."

"Huh?" Cagalli said, forgetting her melancholic mood just a moment before. While she was wondering about his confrontational attitude with her, she failed to connect between her unasked question and his unexpected answer.

"Nothing." Shinn dismissed. "Come, we'll work on your message, Attha-_sama_. Perhaps by lunch you can move on to 'may your face be full of warts'."

"Okay," the ORB representative said as she took an empty vase. She only realized about what he said seconds later. "HEY!"

Shinn smiled. Perhaps being forced to spend some time fishing with Murdoch wasn't really a waste of time after all.

* * *

Slowly, Kira's eyes fluttered opened. While his eyes were adjusting to the surrounding, his hazy mind was going through what happened before he fell asleep. Terrence would probably have a fit if he knew that Kira had fallen asleep sitting inside Guardian again.

Not that he really cared.

Strangely enough, what his doppelganger had said seemed to be true. Even ELEANA had given her 'affirmation' of that information when she mentioned that there's a remote probability that quantum communication system that interfaced Kira with his mobile suit could actually connect him to the person in which she was based on. For a computer to indicate a remote probability, that would have meant the probability was quite strong.

Kira's eyes glanced all around him. There was a vast whiteness all around him. He was about to get up and stretch when a voice stopped him.

"Please don't move from your position, Kira."

It was then he realized that he was leaning on someone else' back. The voice also caused a torrent of emotions to flood through him. The voice was similar but on the instinctual level, Kira knew that the voice didn't belong to ELEANA. "Fllay…" he breathed as he turned his face to see her.

"Don't, Kira or the connection will be lost."

Reluctantly he turned his face to the front but he managed to catch a slight glance at her face. It was her.

"Kira…"

"Yes?"

"If it's okay with you, can we remain like this for a moment?"

"Yes," he said, simply relishing the chance to be with her. A very small part of him warned him that it could be a trap but somehow it was soon muted by the total acceptance that it was truly her, not an mirage created to trick him into lowering his guard.

The two of them remained seated on the floor, back to back for what seemed to be very short time but Kira knew that a long time had passed. Even though the two of them didn't say anything, they were communicating to each other; listening to the other person breathing, listening to the other person's heartbeats and listening to the other signs that the other person was alive.

"Thank you, Kira. I needed that," Fllay said, finally breaking the silence.

"It's okay. I needed that as well," he answered.

"How is she?"

"She?"

"Lacus."

Kira felt his heart constrict painfully. "She's doing okay."

Fllay chuckled. "You're cute even when you try to lie, do you know that?"

He closed his eyed in embarrassment. "Fllay…"

"You were searching for me all this time, weren't you?"

"Yes. I want to see you."

"Why, Kira?" she asked quietly. "You already have Lacus by your side. She loves you, you know."

"I know..." he answered guiltily. "I know that she cares for me so much but I can't return her feelings," he said, silently implying that Lacus wasn't the one that he loved.

The woman behind him took a deep breath. "Don't you? Or are you reluctant to share with her your pain? Maybe you doubt your emotions because the guilt you felt over what happened to me. You feel guilty about me, don't you?"

"No, I…"

"Don't lie, Kira. Your stammer gave it away easily."

Subconsciously Kira fisted both his hands in frustrations. While that wasn't the real reason why he wanted to see her, he had to admit that fact wasn't wrong; he still couldn't forget he had basically sent her careening to her own doom. When both of them fought at the end of the second war, he could feel how much he had caused her and of course that would have made him feel guilty. But he really wanted to see her because he longed for her.

"I don't think so, Kira." Fllay's words brought him out of his stupor. "The feelings that you think you have for me probably aren't real," she said in a voice that indicate that she was smirking when she said that.

"How do you know that my feelings for you aren't real?" Kira asked back, not realizing that both their position were reversed. Two years ago, it was him that told her that her emotions for him wasn't true and were borne of her guilt to him. But to hear her ask the same question, he couldn't believe how painful it made him felt. Somehow, it made Kira think that she had moved on. Strangely, he was supposed to feel happy about that but he didn't. There was a small selfish side of him that wanted her to only be happy with him. He sighed. Perhaps he was too selfish. "How about you then?"

"When we fought at the end of the second war, I fought you because I wanted to run away from my feelings. Later I realized that it was wrong. The feelings were what allowed me to run in the past, just like how they allow me to sit by you right now and with them I will be there by your side, until the day before tomorrow."

Her words gave him some hopes that perhaps he did have some chance with her after all. Suddenly his vision faded for a moment before a fuzzy image of Terrence came into view.

"Damn you Kira! If you want to become a vegetable for the rest of your life, at least let me buy some insurance on you and then think of way to get you involved in an accident."

Terrence had a give of gab; he could annoy most people, Kira included. "I'm already 'dead', remember?" Kira said as he looked around his room. He recalled going to sleep early because he was a bit tired.

"Right, silly me for thinking I can make a billion. Anyway, now, would you like to go ahead with it or should I get someone else?"

That caused Kira to quickly got up, almost knocking the STI owner who was seated on the side of the bed.

"No. I'm fine." There was a part of the dream, Kira wondered whether that could be considered as a dream since he could still feel her leaning on his back, that was a bit off. He didn't have the luxury to think about it. He had a task to complete.

"I will test pilot Dammerungsfee."

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note** (04 June 2009)

1. The argument that Cagalli and Shinn had actually could be seen from two angles. Honestly, I'm more leaning towards the opinion that if Strike Freedom and Justice stayed in the first war, they could have beaten the invasion fleet. Of course, this may lead to different endings but it's not that we can really predict what will happen. So despite Shinn's argument, there's always two sides to every event.

2. Out all sections inside this chapter, the last chapter is the hardest to write, in my opinion.


	11. Musical Box

Even though the man on the screen was wearing a flight suit, the CIC operator could see the look of satisfaction on his face. "Congratulations, Commander Yamato," he said. "Mr. Shauzer had been trying to fix ORION for quite some time." Left unsaid was the man would go ballistic after he returned from one month stint on Earth; the engine was one of his pet projects.

Kira slowly guided his mobile suit to a nearby asteroid where a landing bay slowly opened. "I just added the final component he himself built and take it out for a test flight, that's all." That was an understatement, since Kira had to change a lot of settings as well as carried out so many modifications that he had basically rebuilt the whole device. However, that wasn't important to him. What mattered was that Damerrungsfee's ORION engine was functioning perfectly.

ORION, an acronym for Over-thrust Reconfigurable Ion Output eNgine, was basically an analog to the chemical fuel-based jet engine used by aircraft in the pre-Cosmic Era time. Such system would draw in atmospheric air and then expel it at a higher speed and temperature, creating the thrust to move forward. However, the drastic improvement achieved by ion propulsion as well as the environmental concern regarding the use of chemical fuel, had led to ion propulsion being the accepted propulsion in Cosmic Era. Besides, it was very suitable for space travel since it didn't require oxygen to function, reducing the overall weight of the system.

However, for manned vehicles, a considerable amount of ion was still needed, especially when high speed acceleration was needed. Apart from the power required to operate the propulsion system, the amount of ion propellant carried would affect how long a mobile suit can operate. Strike Freedom used a variant of Voiture Luminaire, which in turn was based on the Solar Sail system but ZAFT and Terminal had made a very bad mistake of confusing the system's intended usage. Like a boat's sail, Voiture Luminaire were designed to use photons given off by the sun to propel an unmanned through space. The design called for continuous acceleration in one vector over a long time so was suited for such mission, as proven by Stargazer mobile suit.

Strike Freedom, Destiny and other ZAFT mobile suits borne of the same design weren't suitable for use with Voiture Luminaire. Because of the system had to be modified to use ions instead of photons so that the mobile suit could operate on Earth as well increase its agility. After all, it wouldn't do for Strike Freedom to accelerate at a speed of one meter per hour while in a battle. In the end, the so-called Voiture Luminaire system that the mobile suits used was nothing more than a glorified super-efficiency ion propulsion system.

That was why ORION was considered as the real next generation propulsion engine. Still maintaining ion propulsion as the mainstay of the system, ORION also employed an ion compressor. The system had two modes. In space, it would absorb ions and photons from surrounding to use in propulsion; the two were still present in what supposed to be vacuum-like space but a very low density compared to Earth. On Earth, beside from compression the surrounding air, it would also help to produce plasma around the mobile suit to improve its aerodynamic.

Apart from propulsion, ORION would also be used for offense. With the problems pertaining to the engine fixed, Damerrungsfee could use its own ion-powered weapon platform. Previous tests had to be conducting using modified weapons from other mobile suits.

"Still, I think Mr. Shauzer will be jealous of what you did," the CIC operator remarked.

"Jealous…" Kira said as he trailed. That thought brought him to the AI unit onboard Guardian. He had noticed that it had displayed strange quirks lately. For example, earlier that day after he told her… _it…_ that he would be testing Damerrungsfee, ELEANA told him that it was advisable for him to spend more time in a simulator improving his skill. If a human had made the comment, he would have pegged it as jealousy but ELEANA?

Yes, its suggestion was rather short and made in an offhanded manner but Kira couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable in not following the advice.

Why is it that he felt that he was going to regret continuing to test pilot Dammerungsfee later on?

* * *

"Let me guess, the ship's name is Doc Holliday? Or is it Wyatt Earp?"

Athrun couldn't help but smiled at the statement made by his blonde friend as he got down from his mobile suit. Count on Dearka to come up with something like that upon seeing the ship's catapult system. "Far away, pard'ner."

"That has to be the worst Western imitation I've ever heard," Dearka said as he handed the helmet to a nearby technician while others scrambled to service the artillery-type Gouf he piloted. "Simply sucks."

"Good to see you too, Dearka and let me welcome you to Puma." Perhaps Athrun was being evasive but he didn't really want to bring up the 'good ol' times' seeing that only two of them remained of their group. He had heard that the man in front of him almost kicked the bucket as well when the ZAFT's base where he was stationed had been attacked by Durandal's followers. It shamed Athrun to think that he had served under the devious and cunning man for quite some time before coming to his senses.

"Puma, huh?"

"Yeah, of the Felinae-class."

"Never heard of it." It seemed pretty obvious that he was also skirting around the issue of their dead friends by focusing on the ship instead of asking about their mutual acquaintances.

Athrun was fine with that. Thinking about the circumstance surrounding Yzak's death was quite painful enough. After all, it felt as if it was just yesterday the whole thing happened. He, as a member of FAITH was sent by Gilbert, together with Lunamaria, to negotiate a peace treaty with Lacus. The chairman felt that Terminal's involvement in the war would only prolong it and the only way to solve the problem is to achieve an agreement with the faction so that the two forces could unite to fight LOGOS. To ensure that the mission would be successful, Yzak's team was enlisted to help.

The talk was a trap to kill Lacus, however. The information regarding it had been leaked to LOGOS and as predicted by Gilbert, it launched an attack led by three LOGOS' prototype mobile suits. The attack managed to destroy Eternal, killing everyone onboard including Andrew Waltfed. Fortunately Lacus survived the attempt as the man had drugged her and left her at Terminal's base. In the ensuing battle, Yzak was killed as well although he managed to take down one of the three prototypes.

Athrun shrugged. "Unlike MSes UNITY decided to come up with its own design.

Dearka gave a look around and whistled. "Well, have to say that the design is a bit impressive."

"You haven't seen everything yet," Athrun said as he led the way to outside of the hangar.

"By the way, how's Mrs. Zala is doing?"

The man chuckled at that question. He himself wasn't sure of the answer he was supposed to give. To be honest, he had trouble sleeping thinking about his pregnant wife. Wait… he's going to be a father soon! As his hands became clammy from nervous sweats he pondered whether he would become a good father. What if he wasn't ready for the responsibility? What if he showed bad example to his child?

As a bachelor without any worry at all, Dearka couldn't be blamed for mistaking the look Athrun was wearing for something else. "Couldn't get her out of your mind, eh?" he said with a knowing smirk.

"Yeah," Athrun said, shaking his head, trying to regain his focus and thus missing the grin on his friend's face. He shouldn't worry about the future too much. As for Luna, Meyrin and their parents promised to take care of her so he can concentrate on his duty. "So," he said, changing the conversation, "what caused you to accept enrolment into UNITY? I remember your not being keen when they asked you last time."

"Ah, you know what happened to me."

Yes, through the contacts that he had, Athrun had learned regarding what happened. It was a miracle how ZAFT and its proxy Integrated Design Bureau managed to cover the theft of their prototype although he was a bit skeptical whether others haven't learned about it. An open attack at a military base wasn't easy to cover, after all. Dearka was one of the very few people who managed to survive the attack but Athrun imagined that he would remain with ZAFT. Apart from the brief stint fighting alongside Archangel in the first war to thwart Creuset and his father's plan, Dearka remained loyal to ZAFT. Unlike Yzak and to certain extent himself, Dearka wasn't one to seek revenge so his blonde friend joining UNITY couldn't be motivated by that reason. "And?"

"While I'm a bit pissed off that my machine couldn't keep up with my opponent's, it paled in comparison what I learned; we're ill prepared to fight them unless we combine power. You seem to think so too, which is why you're here."

"True." While he had offers to rejoin ZAFT or ORB, as offered by Cagalli, he decided that the future should be better served by a united peace keeping force that wouldn't be tied up by any group and will protect the whole Earthsphere. To him, Durandal's dream of uniting everyone wasn't bad. It was the man's desire of segregating everyone according to their genes that was akin to a caste system that was wrong.

Out of nowhere, Dearka suddenly laughed.

"Something funny?"

"Not really. Just remember what Yzak called the two of us after the first war."

"And?" While he had met Yzak in the second war, they rarely talked beyond mission and duty.

"Turncoat redcoat."

Athrun couldn't help but smiled at that statement. Yzak always had a penchant for colorful language, especially for insulting other people. He really missed the arrogant jerk and others. How he wished all of them, Yzak, Rusty and Nicol were still alive. It was what Durandal once told him came to mind. The wars not only destroyed lives and physical things, they also damaged the survivors' souls. It was rather ironic that dead Chairman's group was instigating another war. Despite that, he would play his part in order to prevent it. "Come, I'll show you the rest of the ship."

"Lead on… Captain."

* * *

"To your left is the shopping mall," Shinn remarked lazily to his grey-haired colleague, gesturing at the building. The building had been damaged when a missile landed on the sixth floor and exploded. Fortunately no one was injured as the tomboy princess had evacuated all civilians before the battle. In fact, there's nothing to suggest that the building had been damaged at all, unless one considered the fact that it had a new paint job.

"A shopping mall… I see." There was a little bit of wonderment in Sven's voice.

"Right. The place where you can burn all your hard-earned salary to buy things."

"Buy things… I see."

To his annoyance, Shinn could easily picture the man nodding his head. He whirled toward Sven to see the man was indeed nodding his head curiously. "You have never been to a mall before?"

The question was asked in a sarcastic manner but Sven didn't catch the tone. "When I was five years old… I think."

The former Phantom Pain member knew what the mall was and he had gone to such places when he was small with his parents. But that was before the freak accident that took their lives. After that, his life was centered on training how to kill Coordinators. Apart from that, everything was provided for. Even the pub at the base that he and his former teammates frequented provided free liquors to them. Even when he wasn't on duty he wasn't allowed to go outside the base without supervision. So, yes, he knew about malls and other civilian places but he didn't really have the practical knowledge there. He was trained not to waste his time with such things.

So, even after the war ended and he was reassigned to a more normal team, he found difficulty in fitting in other people's lifestyle. As such, he dedicated his time to improving and honing his combat skills. Sven would never find out that one of the major reasons why he was sent to an ORB team was to force him to interact with other people outside military settings.

Shinn rolled his eyes at his companion's statement. It looked like Blue Cosmos, or rather LOGOS, was so bent at defeating ZAFT and eradicating Coordinators that it forgot that its soldiers were human beings instead of killing machines. An image of Stellar came to mind and he came to a decision. "All right, let's go to the mall."

"Is it okay to be doing something like that?"

"Um, yeah, as long as we're clear on the part that I'm just showing you around instead of something going on between the two of us."

As the two of them walked around, basically windows shopping, Shinn had an introspective thought. Like Stellar, Sven had been brought up to become soldiers without any choice on the matter. On the other hand, he chose to become a mobile suit pilot, in a rather sad attempt of escaping the helplessness he felt when his family was taken away from him. Perhaps it was time for him to grow up a bit and put the past behind him.

"Ice cream, Shinn?" Sven said, bringing him out of his musing. "I bought two."

Shinn looked at the offered chocolate cone. He quickly glanced to his left and right to make sure that nobody he knew was around; they were sure to do their best to understand everything. "Sure," He said as he took the cone and took a bite.

It's been a while since he ate an ice cream. It looked like Sven wasn't the only one who needed to loosen up a bit.

* * *

Even when she masqueraded as Lacus Clyne, Meer Campbell was a different person at heart. Sure, they shared passion for singing and Meer idolized the Clyne heiress but that similarity ended there. While her heroine had taken great risks in order to stop the first war, Meer did nothing of sort.

When the second war broke out and Lacus was nowhere to be found, Gilbert extended an invitation for Meer to take Lacus's place. Happy that she was given what was probably the biggest break in her career, Meer readily accepted.

At first, she was very happy being given the chance to take Lacus's place. To be even a pale imitation of someone she looked up to, revere even. When she told to appear in front of the public after Alliance's unsuccessful nuclear attack at the beginning of the second war, she accepted the task fully, reminding herself that Lacus would probably do the same. As the war progressed she embodied what was supposed to be Lacus's will, spreading hope and message of peace to everyone, be it Coordinators or Naturals.

Then, it all changed as the time went by as Meer began to feel burdened by what she was doing. It wasn't caused by her hectic schedule but by the fact that she had to suppress her true feelings. Gilbert Durandal told her that Lacus would galvanize everyone to protect PLANTs no matter what the cost. Perhaps that was the case but for Meer, she didn't like how the second war progressed. Even though the Alliance was almost defeated, ZAFT increased their operations that it seemed as if it was planning to capture the whole world and she was supposed to provide the voice, 'Lacus's approval' to the whole matter.

She was at her threshold when she was kidnapped by what seemed to be dissident Alliance agents. Her earlier assumption was proven wrong when she found out that they were actually working for a newly-formed nation that encompassed North America and Europe continent. She found out that her kidnapping was staged in order to stop her influence. Also, she found out that Lacus was actually fighting against Gilbert.

That fact had rocked her world, but she managed to put herself together to make a public appearance to condemn Gilbert. As expected, the sly chairman exposed her real identity to the whole world but Lacus appeared to support her.

After the war ended, she had considered retiring from being a singer due to her involvement with Gilbert but surprisingly her fans pleaded with her. _Her _fans, not Lacus's. They understood what happened and had accepted the fact that if she wasn't around to impersonate Lacus, PLANTs would have been thrown into massive chaos after the failed nuclear attack by Alliance. So, she decided to take to the stage again, this time as herself.

"Are you okay, Miss Campbell?" a voice brought her out of her musing.

"Er, yeah," she answered as she looked at the uniformed man who asked her that question.

"For you," the man said as he handed her a cup of hot chocolate. "To calm yourself."

She accepted the drink. "Thank you, detective," she said before taking a sip, letting the ambrosia spread inside her.

"I know this is a bit inconsiderate, but do you know who your attackers are?"

"No. I have no idea," she answered with a straight face. Of course she knew who they were. Gilbert's sympathizers who were angry with her for the so-called 'betrayal'. Lacus had warned her about them in person.

"I think we should cancel the concert."

"No," she said simply.

"No? Do you realize the danger you're in right now?" the detective asked her.

She looked at the four bodies not far from the place where the two of them were standing. Actually, Meer understood very well the danger she was in. She was in the room when the attackers came in, intent on riddling her body with bullets. Shocked, she could only stare at them as their raised their silencer-equipped semiautomatic pistols. Before she could even scream, a hand yanked her body away from the four of them and a soft purring sound was heard. The next thing she, she was on the floor, watching her would be assassins fell to the ground, bullet wounds perforating their bodies. Her savior, by then, had already disappeared.

So, yes, Meer knew very well the danger she was in. "I am aware of it."

"So, why are you being so difficult about it?" the man in front of her asked exasperatedly.

"When I decided to sing once again, I know about the risks, the danger. Even then, I still decide to sing. For me to simply surrender now to their threats can be considered rude to my fans," she smiled at the man, "that's why I leave the protection matter to you."

The detective sighed. From what he could see, the people after her wouldn't make an open attempt on her life as they took considerable care to disable the security cameras beforehand. Maybe they wouldn't do it in the open. "Very well," he said reluctantly while bringing out a book. "But anything funny and I have you whisked away faster than you can say 'uncle'."

"Okay, but this is?" Meer asked as she eyed the book.

"Ahem." A pen was offered next to the book.

"Oh." The detective wanted an autograph. She signed her named first. "What message do you want me to write?"

"Um…" he wasn't very comfortable with what he wanted to say, "er… whatever you want?"

"Okay, so if it's okay I do this?" she kissed the page, letting her lipstick leave a mark on it. At the man's gaping expression she frowned, "Is it okay, or should I just rip it off and sign a new one?"

"No. no. no," the man said eagerly while taking the book. "This is fine, in fact I'm very happy to receive it."

"Meer, it's about time," her manager called out from afar. "Should we delay it?"

"No. I'm coming right now. Well then detective, please excuse me."

The man simply nodded, floored by the very special autograph he had received from her. While he could be businesslike when it came to work, that didn't change the fact that he was one of her fans. He was going enjoy shoving to everyone's face back at the station the fact that he had Meer's autographed kiss. Ah, the simple joy of being a police detective.

As the songstress walked toward the stage, she took out something from her pocket. Since her savior quickly left after saving her life, she guessed he didn't want his identity to be revealed. And since none of her attackers was a redhead, Meer assumed that the long strand of red hair in her hand belonged to her savior. Dropping the hair inside a dustbin next to the stage's stairs, she let herself be engulfed by the light.

She had taken the centre stage once again, this time as herself. The crowd in front of her broke into thunderous excitement as she greeted all of them. Lacus was correct when she told her that they were her fans.

Afterwards, after she had finished the concert, Meer would work on a new song in tribute of the person who saved her. She managed to catch a glimpse of that person but what stuck in her mind was the impression given by the person as he left the place. Meer nodded to herself, satisfied with the idea.

'_The shadow of a lonely vampire.'_

Perfect.

* * *

Cagalli sighed as she absentmindedly signed another document and put it aside. She then took another document and signed it, not realizing that the paper was just a brief informing her of the next meeting. She was even oblivious to the presence of Kisaka who had entered the room five minutes prior. The man just stood a scant two meters away, watching her do her job mechanically. He would have been content to leave things as they were but he had to say something before she made a big mistake.

"It seemed that Milady having problem concentrating on the job."

The ORB representative jerked her head toward him at an unbelievable speed. "I'm not thinking about him, damnit!"

"Him?" Kisaka questioned, clearly puzzled.

Cagalli dropped on her chair, horrified by what she had blurted out.

The man stared at her in silence, considering all facts before coming to a conclusion. "That reminds me, Athrun sent his regard."

"I'm not talking about him."

Kisaka raised his eyebrows as a shadow of a smirk appeared on his face as his charge realized that she had made another big mistake. "By the way, I need to remind you that Asuka's class is scheduled at six in the evening."

Cagalli shrunk in her seat, face blazing red from embarrassment. There was no doubt about it, Kisaka knew that she was thinking about Shinn. "I was only thinking about the class, that's all. Nothing out of ordinary."

Only Kisaka's stoic manner managed to conceal the worry that he was feeling regarding Cagalli's behavior. That was the first time he saw her totally flustered. Of course, he had seen some moments involving her and Athrun but she had maintained some semblance of control. "Perhaps some tea is long overdue. I'll go and get it," he said as he left the room, not willing to witness her rather out of character behavior anymore. Also, by leaving the room, he hoped that she would calm herself and stop uttering unnecessary things.

When she was alone, Cagalli let out a long breath and leaned on her chair. It was annoying as well as embarrassing but she thought a lot about the annoying brat those days. It wasn't perverted or anything but it still bothered her that she thought about him.

She wasn't sure when she started thinking about him but it was quite annoying. Of course, Shinn was better-looking and better mannered compared to her ex-fiancé but it wasn't that hard to top Jonas. If she was to compare Shinn Athrun, she would say that each have their respective strengths. While Athrun was cool and collected even in the middle of a storm, Shinn had a penchant for going straight to the point and was honest to a fault, a big fault.

Wait, since when she started comparing Shinn and Athrun? That was almost as if… she was considering him to be a boyfriend-material.

"Arrghhh!" she growled in frustration as she got up from her seat, deciding that there was no point in doing her job if she couldn't concentrate anymore. Rather than wait for her tea, it would be better for her to go get it herself. Perhaps she can find some prohibited drugs to cause selective amnesia later on. But just as she was about to exit the room, a person came in.

"Yo, tomboy," Shinn greeted her, "Ready for…" he couldn't complete his sentence as a powerful punch knocked the wind out of his lungs and he toppled to the carpeted floor, face-first, clutching his stomach. He may be a Coordinator, but he wasn't prepared for the sudden attack. Even if he was ready, the punch itself was fast.

"I'm in no mood to hear your stupid insults today so consider the class cancelled."

The man in front of her could only groan affirmatively.

Satisfied, Cagalli left the room to get her drink.

Still sprawled on the floor, Shinn tried hard to understand what had just happened. The brutish representative had never acted in such a way.

Maybe it was that time of the month? That must be it, he concluded, as there was no other explanation.

"Emm… sir?" a woman's voice asked respectfully behind him, from the entrance.

"Yeah?" he croaked.

"The room is scheduled for vacuuming… so…"

"So…?"

"Since you're already on the floor, would you like me to vacuum you as well?"

* * *

"It's been a while since I saw you, old man," Terrence said as he took leaned on a veranda. In his opinion the house really fit his former superior. Perched on top of a hill and away from the bustling city nearby, the house was a perfect place for someone who was trying to get away from them all. He could see that a woman touch was there in the furnishing. "You live with your daughter in-law?"

"And my three grandchildren. My daughter is taking them out to celebrate the youngest one's successful school play."

"And left the old grandpa alone at home. I really pity you."

All Terrence got for an attempt to rile the man was smoke blown to his face. As he coughed, the man asked, "Why are you here? I'm already retired."

"Oh, really? I never would have thought Captain Barzhakov, the man who claimed that he would go down with his own ship rather than retire, would make such a statement."

The retired man didn't respond to his taunt but took a pipe out of his pocket. After playing with the thing for few minutes he replaced it. "It's okay if I kill the crew with second-hand smoke but not my family, you see," he said, as if knowing what Terrence would have asked.

"Fuck you old man!"

"So," Barzhakov turned all business. "How's the progress with the sword and the shield?" he asked, referring to the mythical sword that could cut through anything and the shield that could block any attack. Because their existence was a dichotomy it was said that they were destroyed when they were used on each other; the sword break through the shield and the shield destroyed the sword in order to block the attack.

"It's highly classified, you know."

"I have some news, Terrence but I would like to hear from the jackass' mouth itself."

"Isn't it the 'horse's mouth'?"

"No. I meant what I said."

Terrence chuckled. "You may kill someone one day with that sharp jibe of yours. As for your question, Guardian has been operational for quite some time though we're in the process upgrading it."

"How about 'the sword'? I'm guessing that it is predecessor of Fallen?"

"Yeah, though come to think of it both of them are predecessors of Fallen."

ZGMF-X16S Fallen. The pariah of ZAFT's mobile suit history. Even when in the testing stage it had already proven its ability to kill; the Pandora Box-based system killed few test pilots that were stubborn enough to operate the mobile suit outside its safe parameters. Eventually the decision was made to destroy the prototype which caused Terrence, the designer, to escape with it. Subsequently, he and the mobile suit was found by a renegade Alliance team and has joined it ever since. Borrowing heavily from Providence and Strike design, Fallen was designed to be almost as heavily armed as the former but having the mobility that could only be surpassed by Strike.

Guardian, in an essence, continued this approach, becoming the shield. Despite the highly sophisticated multiple-targets system Guardian employed, it was more suited to defense, not by blocking the attacks, but by taking out the attackers even before they could launch their attack.

Dammerungsfee or Dusk Fairy on the other hand, followed the approach of ZGMF-X16X Fallen NOVA, the heavily rebuilt version of ZGMF-X16S Fallen after it was heavily damaged in the battle in Berlin but the resulting modifications carried caused it to be a completely different mobile suit. It no longer served as a multi-role mobile suit but a dedicated assault mobile suit, more suitable for taking out single target such as other prototypes. As such, it was 'the sword that could cut through anything'.

"But as for DF," Terrence continued, using DF as a shortened reference to Dammerungfee, "It's not really operational. The neural interface system is proving a problem even for Kira to handle." He remembered the debriefing where Kira told him what happened. At first the system worked perfectly and the former ORB ace could easily find his targets, decommissioned satellites that were as useful as static targets for practice. However, just as the test progressed to fighting against a remote controlled fighter, Kira began feeling stressed as he found himself in an illusion whereby the fighter seemed to multiply and all of them were moving around randomly. "Also, the engine still requires some work…" Terrence would be chagrined to find out that Kira have solved the problem few days prior.

"I think the Psycho-link is not very suited for use by Coordinators, probably due to our ability to hold multiple thoughts."

"Like the Neural Overclocker on Fallen."

The mobile suit designer nodded. "The mobile suit is quite suitable for use by a Natural or…"

"Or?" Barzhakov prompted.

"For use by someone or something that has an even greater multitasking. It's rather unfortunate, really. While its performance is comparable enough to Guardian with the system switched off I think it's a waste for it not to be used at full power."

"I see. Now while you can bore me to death with how many screws and bolts your robots have, why don't you go straight to the point? I don't think you're here just to pay a courtesy call."

"How rude. They're not robots, they're mobile suits."

"Whatever," Barzhakov muttered.

Terrence sighed. "Fine. I want to know whether you are Sleipneir."

"You think that I'm Sleipneir?"

Barzhakov's tone when he answered the question revealed that the former captain knew a bit about the information provider. But what Terrence wanted to know was how much he really knew. His superior's reply also served to challenge Terrence's suspicion regarding his involvement in this matter. "We found a bug."

The older man grinned. It was obvious that Terrence was baiting him with the sentence. The bug could either mean electronic bug or software bug so his next comment would show whether he really know what was happening or not. Sure, he could simply ask what kind of bug was it but that would be seen as an attempt by him to shift the suspicion away by pretending to be oblivious. "So, you found a bug and it's bugging you that it may have something to do with me. What caused you to come to that conclusion?"

It was best to attack the hidden question with a direct question after all.

"You were allowed into the base that one time and you could have installed the rerouter then. Well, I don't really believe that you can come up with something like that but perhaps you could enlist Sparky's help to design it."

Barzhakov gave a look at him before gazing far away, thinking about what he said. "Yes, I know about the so-called super informer whose information helped us in weakening Durandal's sympathizers. But you know, you're looking at the matter from a wrong perspective."

"Wrong perspective?"

"You're asking the wrong question, trying so hard to find the identity of the informant."

"Then what question should I ask?"

Barzhakov pondered his next statement but decided to go through it anyway, "What if Sleipneir is not on our side?"

"Yeah, and it wasn't you who left the hint regarding your involvement."

The former captain scoffed. "And that's the proof you need to clear me off your suspicion list."

"Huh?" Terrence uttered, not really understanding what was being said.

"Since when I started 'leaving hints' instead of going straight to the point?"

Terrence's expression changed into one of shock.

It was then his communicator beeped for attention. But before he could take it out, the beeping stopped.

Thousands of kilometers away, on UNGARD's base where Guardian and Dammerungsfee were stationed, the operator that tried to contact him was sprawling against her console, as blood from her head wound oozed all over it. Her killer smiled as he examined his newest handiwork before turning to other bodies inside the room. "I hope you don't think less of me, _friends._ I assure you, your sacrifices wouldn't be in vain as we will usher in eternal peace to Earthsphere. Yes, it would come, because it is Earthsphere's destiny."

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (14 July 2009)**

1. I'm less busy than last month but still...

2. Anyway, this chapter marks the start of halfway milestone of the story. I expect to finish the story by the end of this year (hopefully)


	12. Sword of Damocles

The woman sighed as she looked at the electronic tablet in her hand. Not letting it go lest it would float away, she turned to ask a man inspecting a small enclosure in front the two of them. "How's the BDSWR unit?"

"Huh?" came the unintelligent reply.

"Biological domestic solid waste recycling."

"Um… sorry?"

She clucked her tongue in annoyance. There was no helping it the man had just recently transferred into her unit. "The toilet."

"Ah… Sorry. I forgot that's the real documented reference. Others called it 'bad sewer' because 'bi di ass double you are' is a bit mouthful to pronounce."

"Figures."

The man shrugged. "But as you said, toilet it is, Miss Mcgriff."

When she joined Deep Space Survey and Development Organization, better known as DSSD, Selene McGriff had expected almost everything; harsh space hazards, being caught in the middle of the war or being held at a gunpoint... but she was being tasked with the most dangerous job of them all… designing toilet.

Of course she was being over dramatic and of course the director wasn't punishing her because of her rather straight to the point remark in that meeting three months prior about him being as intelligent as a Billy goat but she could be given other projects to work on.

No, the director insisted. UNGARD, or United Nation Agricultural Research Division required the project urgently for use in its space colony. Thus, it was pouring a lot of money into the project, the money that DSSD required in order to continue its own Stargazer project. The unmanned explorer had been plagued by various problems and required some time to rectify them. And, since Selene oversaw Stargazer project, and not because of her calling him a stupid old goat the director maintained as he was a professional and thus couldn't be bothered by immature name-calling, she was the one who should be given the responsibility.

Stupid old goat.

Still, there was no denying that DSSD required the fund. But there's the matter of why UNGARD was interested in developing modular toilets. Developing toilets that are suitable for onboard a ship wasn't really something the agricultural department was supposed to focus on; it had its own colony to build.

Selene could smell the stink in the whole project and it wasn't the toilet.

"Damn it!" she swore. "I'm being excited about a toilet. Couldn't I have something else to be excited at?"

As if answering her prayer, the whole place shook as if an earthquake had just occurred. However, in zero-gravity, there was no such thing as an earthquake.

Then, the siren went off.

* * *

The pilot only frowned a bit upon seeing the Civilian Astray DSSD Custom flying her wing. "Tell me again why we're fighting on the fucker's side?" she asked another pilot through a closed channel.

As a response, the mobile suit her colleague its piloting merged its M9009B beam rifles and fired at a target quite a distance away and was rewarded with an explosion. "Because, if we don't, Mudie, your so-called fucker's base will be destroyed and once our mobile suit battery becomes depleted…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I get fucked up too. "Still," she said as she eyed the Astrays she were leading, "I'm rather uncomfortable having to lead trash into the fight."

"Language, Mudie."

"Geez, you're sure you're not a Boy Scout when you're small, Shams?"

"Nah. As for your comment just now, it's to be expected as right now we're the 'good guys'."

Mudie snorted. Playing the role of a heroine wasn't listed in her personal list of things to be proud of. She was brought up and trained to be an unquestioning soldier and that was the role she was playing until the battle at a laboratory in Ireland. That time, the three of them, Shams, Sven and her were ordered to defend a mobile suit laboratory from a theft attempt. When she saw the single gunmetal black mobile suit being sent to fight the three of them, she was quite sorry for the pilot for having to play the role of the sacrificial sheep.

But two minutes later, all of them were defeated just like that, hacked off all their limbs just like puppets. The attack was close range and she was helpless to stop it even though her mobile suit Blu Duel was suited for close quarter combat. Later, she would learn that the laboratory wasn't the real target; their mobile suits were. At that time, however, Mudie was so angry at the utter humiliation and was prepared to kill detonate her mobile suit. She had to stop as the black mobile suit held a beam saber just inches away from the door of her cockpit.

Then Mudie realized that the mobile suit had Phase Shift armor and would likely survive the blast. If that was the case, why did the pilot tried to stop her? Then the truth hit her like a pile of bricks. The pilot was mocking her, daring her to die by a far crueler and painful way than taking the easy way out.

That was the first time she was paralyzed by fear. She had fought many enemies and had prevailed. But not that time.

And just like that, after all their body parts were taken away, the mobile suit left.

As the second war progressed, Mudie found out that the mobile suit's name was Fallen, a ZAFT prototype stolen by an anti Alliance group. It fought Destroy and even Freedom in Massacre of Berlin which her team was supposed to join but was unable to do so due to the damaged suffered by the attack in Ireland.

Mudie hissed as her mobile suit blocked a beam shot with its right shoulder mounted shield before throwing a Stiletto penetrator at the attacker. Her aim was a spot on as it exploded moments later.

The god if such being existed, she thought, was out to get her.

The trio was capture in the later part of the second war when the so-called Confederation strike force attacked their base. Already stripped of all spare parts required to repair the three prototypes as well as having only six Windams to defend against the attack, the base commander decided to surrender rather than let it be utterly destroyed. The strike force fielded a prototype that could fire a powerful beam that was quite powerful and comparable to a small positron cannon. Mudie, Sven and Shams, so used to receiving orders without questioning them, simply raised their hands up in the air when a group of special force troop stormed the hangar where they were at.

Mudie growled while moving to protect a nearby Astray. "Are you so eager to die, civilian?" she told off the pilot over an open channel.

"Sorry, ma'am… er… thank you."

"Now, scram!"

"Looks like you're enjoying playing the emo-type heroine, don't you?" Shams said in a singsong voice as his mobile suit let of a hailstorm of shots.

"Fuck you!"

"I'll remember to get the condoms."

After the capture, Sven, Shams and she went through a series of programming and deprogramming as the Confederation was concerned that they were programmed similar to Extendeds. They were cleared subsequently although in her case it was two months later after the other two. She would never know that Shams played a cruel prank on her by suggesting to the psychotherapists that her dark and morose personality was possibly due to some kind of emotional distress she suffered.

"Maybe I'll help your enemy get rid of you…"

"You wish…" Shams scoffed.

So, as a part of their 'parole', the three of them were sent to DSSD to help with security against space pirates and marauders. A month later Sven was reassigned to an island somewhere that she really didn't care to find out. Despite her thinking that the only good Coordinator was a dead one, she really didn't have much problem with those at DSSD; she had problems with everyone there so they couldn't blame her for being a racists. Ironically, she was clumped together with Selene to form the 'Terrible Duo' and meeting the said person, she found out that both of them shared a healthy mutual dislike toward each other and mutual disrespect toward everyone else.

"This is a bit too much for a pirate raid," Shams said as their enemy pressed their attack. Out of the thirteen defenders, only his mobile suit, Blu Duel and three Astrays were left. "It was as if they want to get something valuable."

The problem with being the 'good guys', as Shams mentioned, before was the fact that they had to be courteous to everybody, including their enemy and that was what annoyed her very much regarding the set up. Instead of blasting away those Goufs when they just appeared without prior warning, she, of all people, had to read to them the standard procedures that they adhere to because they had trespassed on DSSD's space.

What the hell was the DSSD thinking when they had her read the procedures? Couldn't they see that the trespassers were carrying weapons and weren't there just to sightseeing? That stupid move had robbed her of the chance to take down at least three enemy mobile suits before they could attack the base. "The unusable AI system? Don't make such a lame joke."

"Yeah? So maybe you can ask the three Goufs around you. Since they seemed quite eager to have you in a gangbang, maybe they'll answer if you ask nicely."

Duel activated a beam saber to slash a Gouf to its left into two. "I must remember to get a spanner in your mouth for that remark, Shams."

"Oh, a dominatrix. I like that."

"Shut up, ass hole."

"You want to do me there too? Ah, scary, but no thanks."

Throughout their banters, the two of them tried to ignore a very important fact; their mobile suits were running low on power. They surely couldn't last another ten minutes of battle.

* * *

"Look, they're out there, risking their necks for us? Can't we do something?" Selene asked as she pointed to the screen.

"Even if we want to, the opponents that they're fighting against are too many to handle," Sol, the young man standing next to her remarked with a worry on his face.

"Couldn't we scrap enough materials to get Stargazer working?"

"You yourself have that answer," Professor Segawa, a 60 year-old bespectacled professor answered. "If not you would have been there fighting."

Selene hung her head. What they said were correct. But she wasn't satisfied with the current situation. Thanks to the support provided by the two Confederation pilots, they have managed to evacuate most of the civilians onboard the station, even though one of them was an intolerable bitch.

"They're professional soldiers, so they would be fine." Sol said, trying to assure her unsuccessfully.

"Sir, we have an identified heat signature incoming at high speed!" someone suddenly announced.

Everyone gulped. Things had gone from bad to worse.

* * *

Shams grinned grimly as the Gouf that almost nick his mobile suit was promptly dispatched by an almost point blank shot from Verde Buster's shoulder mounted rail gun. It looked like the chance of him kicking the bucket was as big as the explosion caused by the damaged Gouf. The only thing that he could do was drag along with him as many people as he could.

His life was cheap to start with.

Living in the slum when he was picked up by LOGOS, he didn't have much of a childhood to begin with. Even Mudie and Sven had their own stories to tell but he could only recall scant memory of what happened when he was small; not that he really wanted to. He knew his parents were constantly bickering and fighting that one day he had enough and ran away, only to run into an agent working for Blue Cosmos.

So all his life he had spent training and practicing to become a model soldier, forsaking everything else. Even the talk about sex he always had with Mudie was just bravado to hide the fact that he was very much inexperienced in such thing. He had learned those only from the films he had watched. Blue Cosmos constantly monitored its soldiers to ensure that they wouldn't do anything that could cause their motivation to go down.

"Damn you!" he cursed as he fired at an incoming Gouf.

The shot missed its mark however, and the hostile mobile suit kept on reducing the distance between the two of them.

Undaunted, Shams kept firing even though the computer warned the energy was approaching critical level. Saving energy in order to retreat was already out of the equation. The only thing he could do was ensure that he had another kill before he was killed.

That seemed hard to achieve as the Gouf pilot was quite skillful in evading his attacks. Shams could only gap as the mobile suit it appeared in front of him, preparing to stab its sword into his cockpit.

Just as his death seemed inevitable, a shot knocked destroyed the hand holding the sword. Then, the Gouf was riddled with multiple shots and disappeared in a large fireball.

"2nd Lieutenant Couza, are you all right?" a male voice asked him.

Shams searched around him to see a new mobile suit fending off the attackers. "Who…"

"That isn't important. You, 2nd Lieutenant Holcroft along with others are to withdraw from the battle."

"Under whose order?" the Verde pilot demanded. Even if the new mobile suit saved him, he simply wouldn't take order from anyone.

"Me."

Even though the answer didn't really answer his question, Shams could feel the extreme confidence in the man's voice. The man was a leader material, as simple as that.

"Yeah?" Mudie interjected. "You alone going to stop them? You and what army?"

The man didn't reply but the answer came in the form of multiple drones-like crafts launching from his mobile suit to engage their enemy. Shams stared at the ensuing chaos and shook his head. "Let's return, Mudie. Our work is done."

"But the man…"

"If you don't notice, that's the so-called unmarked UNITY mobile suit. Whoever the pilot is, he is superior to the two of us not only in rank but in skill. Besides, do you notice the Custom Windam attacking the ship?"

"Yeah…" Mudie said as she gave a cursory look at the mentioned mobile suit. "So?"

"Doesn't the marking look familiar to you?"

It did look familiar to her. If not for the fact that he was dead, Mudie would have said that it belonged to the ace Roger Doolittle. She remembered him from a short stint in Guatemala. Even though he was quite polite and if she had to say, a bit gentlemanly, his piloting skills were to be respected.

"I think they have this covered," Shams continued, "But if you really want to be in their way, be my guest. Me? I'm going home."

Without waiting for a reply, Buster turned away and returned to base. After waiting for a few seconds, Mudie reluctantly followed suit.

* * *

"Pizzabox," Kira asked while Guardian turned to engage an enemy. "How's the situation on your side?"

The said pilot's customized Windam sidestepped to evade a Gouf charging at it while simultaneously slashing its cockpit with a Stiletto. The attack killed the pilot while ensuring that the enemy mobile suit wouldn't explode, damaging his own mobile suit. "I'm doing fine. But they're really almost pulling out all stops just to raid DSSD. Five Nazcas with forty mobile suits just for the raid. Is this AI worth it?"

"I'm not sure about the details but according to our experts there's a possibility that they're aiming to built mobile dolls."

Fully networked synchronous mobile defense units or plainly referred to as mobile dolls. Unlike ELEANA units which had greater autonomy, mobile dolls were computer controlled mobile suits. While as a unit it was just a slightly dangerous moving target, it was far cheaper to produce than even an outdated Ginn because it didn't require a human pilot to control it. And the true potential of mobile dolls would only be realized in a fight where a large number of them were deployed. By communicating with each other, they formed a super-scalar battle computer that could even daunt seasoned and skilled pilots. Apart from that, since no human pilots were required, no training apart from the initial computer programming was required.

"Wow. I can't imagine what would happen if they acquire the AI."

Kira agreed with the statement but there was something that plagued his mind. Then there was a flash and he fully understood everything.

* * *

The commander of The Destined's fleet could only stare at the grim rippers plowing through his mobile suits. When he saw the arrival of UNITY's special force, he knew that it would just be a matter of time before his fleet was defeated. However, the timing was a bit too fast for him. At the current rate, the fleet could only last for another ten minutes.

But for the sake of eternal peace in Earthsphere as envisioned by Gilbert Durandal, he would do his best in his fight.

"Commander! The neo-Providence is coming our way."

That announcement caused him to raise his eyebrows. The so-called neo-Providence, due to the fact that the mobile suit was fearsomely equipped with weapons as well as the strange DRAGOONs was a constant thorn to The Destined's fight. He had heard the rumor that Kira Yamato was its pilot which was a lie, of course considering that the said man was The Destined's ace, piloting the grey variable mobile suit. Regardless of neo-Providence's fake Kira, it was a fact that the fake was a skilled one.

The commander's thought was interrupted by a loud siren as neo-Providence had already appeared in front of the bridge.

It couldn't be, he thought to himself as the mobile suit raised the barrel of its beam rifle in slow motion. He was to ensure the battle last longer than that! His fleet would drag the fight as long as it could and then it would surrender itself. That would have bought plenty of time for his esteemed leader to make his move.

The barrel stopped in front the bridge in what seemed to be an eternity even though only a fraction of a second had passed.

No, he thought. He could salvage the situation. Perhaps he should surrender now. Yes, that would be the best move and the UNITY would have to stop the battle as it would be bound to the New Delhi protocol that prohibited further engagement if the enemy wanted to surrender. Even as he opened his mouth to give the order to surrender, an unpleasant idea made itself known to him. There was no way for the pilot to suddenly attack the ship unless…

The pilot knew what was going on.

If that was the case, then…

The commander couldn't finish his thought as Guardian opened fire point blank and quickly left before the ship exploded.

"Nemain, launch Hyper Siren now!" Kira ordered as an ELEANA unit tore through a nearby enemy.

"What's wrong, Kira?" Pizzabox asked, forgetting to use his call sign.

Without wasting time, Guardian quickly maneuvered to dock with the just launched mobile armor. "It's a trap! The enemy wasn't after the AI. It was after Dämmerungsfee!"

* * *

The armored soldiers' insertion into the asteroid base had been easy, just as planned. However, from there on, they would have to fight their way in for the sake of obtaining their target.

One of them shot the siren above them, silencing the announcement regarding their intrusion. What a useless thing to do, trying to stop them. Unlike their adversary, they are there on a holy crusade to help bring about the world of peace, not create more and more weapons of destruction. That was why they will take into their custody their enemy's weapon and then turn it against them.

A shot ring out and one of them was taken out with a shot to the head. The shooter, a woman with a handheld gun with a desperate look on her, was quickly hailed down with a rain of bullets.

Yes, even if only single one of them survived, the mission would be achieved.

* * *

"Couldn't you raise Nemain?" the base commander asked worriedly. It was only ten minutes since her base had been invaded and they already lost contact with three sections. The attack was well planned and it wouldn't surprise her if there was an information leak somewhere. "We must get in touch with the ship before it is too late."

"I'm trying but still no respond. It's as if they had disabled our communication device."

"Keep trying." She then took a deep breath, preparing to issue order that would ensure many deaths but would probably stem the enemy attack. "Seal off all sections," she said to the man who was in charge of its security

"Seal off all sections?" the man questioned.

"Do it now, we don't have any time to lose."

"Shutting off all sections," the man repeated while entering the commands that cause all sections to be isolated by iron curtains.

While doing that would cause the base defenders to have no place to run to if they were trapped in a fight with attackers, it would at slow the enemy down a little bit. The commander had no illusion that the iron curtains would stop them at all since they had come attacking the base fully prepared for such measure but at least it could buy her some time until Nemain return home from its mission. "Keep trying to contact Nemain," she said to the communication officer.

"Will do."

She then pressed a hidden button on her seat and a hidden panel revealed itself showing some weapons inside it. "Everyone, take a weapon each," she told the rest of the staff after taking a sub-machinegun for herself. "Please step away from the console," she told the security officer who did as told. She then fired a couple of shots at the console, destroying it beyond repair. She then turned to address the rest. "They will come here in order to raise the iron curtains and when they get here, we will be waiting. Even if they succeed in getting rid of us, they will fail."

Despite the obvious fear everyone was feeling, they nodded; there was no running away, no turning back from their merciless enemy.

* * *

Standing with his back against a metal wall amidst the chaotic situation, Razak calmly pressed a small button on the left side of his assault rifle and pulled out the empty bullet magazine to replace it with a new one. He examined the number of bombs; insufficient since he had to fight off what seemed to be a special force. Fortunately the enemy still holed up in the corridor instead of storming his position; they were cautious after all.

He still couldn't understand how they managed to approach the base almost undetected. Even if the ship they're using employed Mirage Colloid, it would have been detected since the base swarmed the surrounding area with micro transmitters that would stop sending signal if they came into contact with the colloidal substance. The lack of the early warning meant one thing: there was a traitor in the base and he or she probably took out the radar room.

Razak swore if he got his hand on that traitor, he was going to enjoy stripping the skin off that bastard's miserable hide. But first, he had to survive the whole ordeal. He took out a sunglass from his jacket's front pocket and threw it into the corridor. He managed to catch a glimpse the position of four gunmen before the sunglass was destroyed.

The four gunmen had expected him to counterattack immediately after finding out about their position. That was why when a cylindrical object floated into view, they quickly shot it down. It was a mistake as the object broke and they found themselves overwhelmed by deafening sound and blinding flash. However, they maintained constant fire at the man's position, not wanting him to take the opportunity to attack them.

When one of them managed to recover his eyesight, he saw a hand grenade floating in between the four of them.

Then it exploded.

After the explosion subsided, Razak emerged and left to search for other survivors, or fight with other attackers.

* * *

The dull grey mobile suit was waiting… waiting for him, the man thought to himself while trying hard not to break into a triumphant laugh. Soon, he would control the most advance mobile suit in the world and no one would be able to stop him. Yes, the mobile suit would be the perfect partner for him to serve The Destined and at the same time extract revenge on the bastard named Shinn Asuka.

Yes, he noted gleefully. He would enjoy killing the man slowly and painfully.

He floated toward the mobile suit's cockpit, ignoring the sound of gunshots echoing inside the hangar. The defenders were pathetic enough to think that they could stop what is inevitable and for that, they will pay with their lives. Unlike them, the strike team he commanded was well prepared for combat and even though they got lucky a few times, it wasn't enough to prevent them from being killed. The gun shots stopped as the last of the defenders fell and the man leisurely unlocked the cockpit's door.

Dammerungsfee, the dusk fairy that will signal the end of all wars and herald in the new age of peace under The Destiny Plan.

The inside of the mobile suit was unlike what the man had seen before. It was a spherical cavity, with some kind of devices on the floor of the cockpit. The lack of the seat suggested that the control mechanism would be quite unique.

But that would be no problem to him.

After two minutes of trying to search for the on button, he managed to activate the operating system. Instantly the cockpit began to glow, showing the area surrounding the cockpit. Then a small window appeared, asking for a password.

Being a Coordinator, that would be a cinch to him. All he needed to do was to hack into the system and bypass the security prompt.

Unfortunately, he overestimated the security and still couldn't fully activate the mobile suit's operating system despite trying for a solid five minutes.

The security system simply shrugged of repeated hacking attempts as if they were nothing that it bordered on impossible. Any programming tactics, dictionary attack and brute force password matching simply failed to break into the mobile suit's computer system. It wasn't because it was programmed by a Coordinator as he himself was one. It seemed that it required some sort of key and to be frank, he didn't know what it was.

Then to his surprise, Kira appeared. The legendary ace could help in ascertaining the required key. "Please, Kira, help me get the system online! We must get it started before the enemy realized that they have been duped."

The newcomer didn't answer the plea but instead put a hand on the man's collar and yanked him out of the cockpit. The man was confused by what happened; even though the ace wanted to help, there was no need for him to be treated so roughly. Then he saw a nearby body. It was one of his team members. He was sure that the man was a life when he entered Dammerungsfee's cockpit and when he was inside it, he didn't hear any new shooting broke out. Then he saw another one, blood floating out of his severed carotid artery.

But Kira didn't say anything about them being dead.

The only tangible explanation was that the traitor had killed them.

Angered by that realization, the man whipped his neck at the traitor.

He saw that steely look, a look that he had seen before more than a year ago; a look that promised revenge on The Destineds. His eyes widened as everything clicked into place. Hilbert must be told about the betrayal…

He was shot in the face before he could even do or say anything

As the man's body floated lifelessly in the hangar together with his team members and those that they had killed, the cockpit of Dammerungsfee closed and its Phased Shift armor came to life, coloring its body gunmetal black. Then, while it began to move, red trimmings began to glow all over its body.

* * *

After what seemed to be an eternity, his base came into view, along with two modified Nazca-class ships in the vicinity. The only introduction the ships' commanders got was precisely aimed shots at the ships' weak spots as Kira was in no mood to be polite; he had no reason to, since even from far away it was visible that the base was heavily damaged by the sneak attack.

Then he saw the black mobile suit that floated nearby, as if waiting for him.

"**Hello, Kira Yamato," **a faceless voice greeted the Coordinator ace.

"YOU!" Kira growled. Even though he couldn't see the face he instantly knew who the speaker was.

"**Yes, me."**

Guardian disengaged its Hyper Siren module as it prepared for battle. "So, the attack on DSSD is just a ruse to lure us away. So, you're behind the whole thing, aren't you?"

"**Well, as much as I want to claim the credit for the plan, I only found out about it at the last possible moment. But you have to be grateful, regardless. If not for you being away, we'll probably have Guardian as well."**

"I'll take Dammerungsfee back."

"**I don't think you have any reason to complain. It recognized me as its master after all."**

Kira frowned at that blatant remark. Guardian took out its beam sabers. "By force, if necessary."

Dammerungsfee held out something in its right hand. **"We'll see." **Like snowflakes, small bluish spheres of lights began to congregating around the object until a saber took form. Unlike beam sabers that were stable in their forms, the distribution of energy wavered a bit, giving the illusion of a blade on fire. **"I'm hurt, Kira. You didn't even test the ion saber." **The black mobile suit then slashed at Guardian which had to block with its two swords. **"Then it's up to me to do the Tameshigiri and I know just what to test it with."**

Kira ignored the riling. He couldn't afford to lose control unless he really wanted to become the test subject for the so-called Japanese target test cutting performed to test the quality for a newly produced sword.

Both mobile suits exchanged attack few times but none managed to get the upper hand.

Despite not fully optimized the black mobile suit was an even match for Guardian. Kira shuddered to think what would happen if Dammerungsfee was at its peak performance. Reluctantly, he arrived to an unwanted conclusion. Rather than letting the enemy took the mobile suit, he would destroy it; Guardian had the mean how to do that.

"**If you're thinking of taking me out with **_**'that'**_**, you must be dreaming."**

Kira gasped, not believing that his rival read his mind.

"**You seem to have forgotten that Dammerungsfee can do it as well." **The black mobile slowly changed into white in color and attacked again, this time causing Guardian to be thrown quite a distance with the resulting impact. Then unexpectedly, it deactivated its ion saber and stored it. **"But I haven't forgotten about the six of them," Kira **said, referring to ELEANAs that launched to form a defensive perimeter around Guardian. **"Are you sure you want to send them to fight me? I can just destroy them, you know."**

"_You share the same weakness with Kira."_

The fake was silent for a while before breaking into a chuckle. **"Well, well, well. This is an unexpected turn of event, Kira Yamato. Looks like I have to concede defeat right now."**Dammerungsfee turned and left the place. **"It's not unfortunate thing, however, as both of us need to survive to the very end."**

Kira alternated his attention between the retreating mobile suit and the damaged base. He really wanted to give chase but there was the issue of him having to deal with the invaders and help his colleagues. In the end he came to a grim decision: the survivors were more important.

Yet, he still couldn't shake the notion that he was being used by the other Kira do achieve something though he wasn't sure what it was.

* * *

1

* * *

Author's note (28th July 2009)

1. Well, this chapter seems out of my usual cycle since I'm aiming for a chapter a month. Oh well, here you are. Yes, the ending of this chapter seems to establish the fact that the storyline forks out from Fallen Angel. To compensate for that, I'm thinking of amending the last chapter of Fallen Angel simultaneously with this story's ending so that it would be in sync.

2. Yeah, once again, it is a Kira double special though this chapter is necessary for the later part development. But to be frank, in this story, I spend thrice the time developing Shinn and Cagalli compared to Kira because I worked on the latter in Fallen Angel (along with Athrun and co.


	13. Mock orange blooming in the night

Even though Guardian had just entered the hangar, Kira knew the situation was bad just by looking at the number of bodies floating around. The lack of fire even though there were a lot of damaged machines suggested that the place suffered atmospheric leaks and it wasn't safe to wander around without breathing apparatus.

_"There's no regulated heat signatures around," _ELEANA told him

With that announcement the probability of enemy mounting an ambush had dropped; if there was anyone alive around the hangar, that person had to wear thermal insulated spacesuit considering the harsh environment. Still, there was no reason to relax as the possibility of a bobby trap was still there. "Run through chemical and electronic scan."

_"Understood."_

While the computer was running through the diagnosis, he maneuvered Guardian to a nearby exposed computer node to gain access to the base network. It was a hassle to break through all the security protocols but after a few minutes of trying he managed to get in. According to the status, forty seven out of seventy two blocks had been compromised, including the control center.

_"Analysis finished. Very small probability of hostile device inside this place."_ In order words, it was safe.

"Good," Kira said as he sent a communiqué to Nemain to tell that it was safe to dock. A body floated by and he felt his heart constricted. The body belonged to a young new recruit who was tasked with maintaining Guardian's beam rifle. Even though the man was an introvert and didn't talk much, Kira had few conversations with him and found out that the man joined UNGARD because he believed that real peace cannot be forced and can only achieved through solidarity.

Yet, he was killed in a battle that could possibly lead to a war greater than the two wars.

Then Kira noticed that something was not right with the scene. While the defenders' bodies were bloodied meaning that they were killed in a fire fight, most of the attackers' bodies were quite clean. In fact, he could see one of the attackers had his oxygen tube supply severed and he probably died from suffocation.

What was going on?

There was a flash and he felt his view dimmed. When it cleared, he found himself looking at the base's communication operator, surrounding by corpses of his colleagues.

_"It's a good thing you have received my transmission or else I would have been in deep trouble," the man said calmly despite what happened to his friends. _

_"Is that something I should worry about?" Kira heard himself replied. _

_"Of course. After all, our esteemed leader needs to know about all the information that I have collected after being deep undercover for quite some time."_

_"You're just someone who backstabbed his own friends for money, Degan." _

_"Yet, it is what I hold that will lead The Destined to victory, 'Pretender'," the man broke into a smile, "oh right, sorry for being rude, 'Kira Yamato'."_

_It was then Kira realized that he was reliving the other Kira's experience. "What are you saying?" the other him asked._

_"Of course, since I was spying on UNGARD, naturally I found out that they also have Kira Yamato working for them. However, unlike him, you're just an impostor. And unlike both UNGARD and The Destineds, I have access to both sides' information and you know what? I realized that you have your own agenda for this war."_

_Kira barely felt the body he was in making a move but a second late the man was shot in the shoulder. _

_"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the man demanded while clutching his injury. _

_"Ah," **Kira** replied, "I'm thinking about finding out that you're already dead. It seemed that although you managed to carry out the sabotage, one of the friends you betrayed managed to kill you with his last breath. I'm sure that The Destined will remember your noble sacrifice for the greater good."_

_"You… you traitor!"_

_This time, a shot hit the man's other shoulder. "Well, well. I would never imagine that the pot would call a kettle black. But perhaps you're right." **Kira** pointed his gun at the man's head. "I'm the scum that had betrayed everyone to get what I wanted so perhaps there's nothing wrong in me killing you."_

_"You… you wouldn't dare! I already know your secret!"_

_"Hmm?" The gun was lowered a bit._

_"Yamato was a fool not to figure it out. While Lord Hilbert probably knew it from the beginning, it was I that made the connection between everything!" _

_A shot echoed in the room and the man was dead once more. _

**_Kira_**_ lowered his gun. "If you really figured it out, you wouldn't have been here at all. But perhaps you're partially correct. Because of what happened today, I fear that my plan has been figured out by that person."_

The next thing Kira knew, he was back inside his cockpit, his mind trying to process what he experienced. He found that it was quite hard to believe what he just saw but it felt very real. If what he saw true, then it was not surprising that The Destined managed to get through GUNSAT network around the base.

GUNSAT, or Georbital UNmanned Spitfire Assault Turret were defensive satellites that used infra-red and electromagnetic-resonance to detect possible hostiles and report them to the base. While a single satellite couldn't detect a stealthy unit such as a mobile suit employing Mirage Colloid, the transposed reading from multiple satellites would produce a glaring 'hole' on radar, enabling its presence to be detected nevertheless. Protected by shatterproof and heat resistant ceramic armor, they could take few direct beam shots while retaliating with their beam CIWS.

Because of that, it was quite improbable that The Destined could to invade the base easily even if they employed completely cloaked ships and mobile suits; they have to have inside help.

But even if what he saw really happened, he couldn't simply tell it to the higher ups without being put in a straightjacket. Sure, he could 'venture' a guess regarding what happened but that was all to it. In the end, it was better to just pretend that he never saw that vision in the first place. Having decided that, he still had to find out the link between the vision and what ELEANA knew about **Kira**. He remember it revealing that his impostor had some kind of weakness similar to him and surprisingly that statement had caused his enemy to retreat just like that.

He had an idea about what it was but when he asked the AI system for clarification, to his surprise it refused to disclose what it was. ELEANA never went against his instruction before. When asked to explain its strange behavior, it replied that it was acting in accordance to the accepted parameters and such was not wrong in its action. Furthermore, it explained that there was no need for Kira to be weight down by a burden that wasn't even his in the beginning.

And that had confused him.

However as a concession, another strange quirk by ELEANA, it explained that its design matrix was actually a multi-dimension communication device instead of being an artificial intelligence unit. That revelation rather than being enlightening has confused him more and more. What did the statement mean? How would it relate with everything

Why did he feel that he couldn't remember something very important from the vision that he saw?

* * *

It actually took a week for the whole mess at the base to be sorted out and only on the seventh day did Terrence was permitted to return. Upon exiting the shuttle, he saw that Kira was waiting for him. He didn't say anything but only floating down until the distance between the two of them was a mere meter.

"You screwed up," he said in a soft voice.

"I'm very sorry," Kira replied without even bothering to give an excuse as he turned to follow Terrence out of the hangar.

Terrence hated himself for being too conscientious. "Don't be," he said while reaching for the door's panel, "I don't intend to make light of the situation but we're very fortunate the attack occurred now." He was somehow glad that he brought along his fiancée for the trip to earth as he couldn't imagine her being in danger.

Fortunate couldn't even begin to describe the situation that they were in. With the enemy saboteurs within UNGARD ranks, escaping a total annihilation itself was a miracle. Fllaga made the observation that the enemy had obviously overestimated the security capability of UNGARD which was a good thing as they didn't try to capture or at least destroy Guardian and Nemain; the probability of them succeeding was high enough to be a worry.

"I thought your room is to the left," Kira commented when Terrence continued on when reaching a junction.

"Already got enough sleep on the way back. Besides, I want to go to the security centre. There's something I want to examine."

"Examine?"

The mobile suit designer nodded. "Yes. Having DF stolen is bad enough but I still have to confirm something no matter what," he said as he stopped in front of the door to the security to swipe the security card only to be rebuked by a metallic screech.

"Sorry," Kira said as he replaced Terrence's position to enter a code at the nearby terminal. "We replaced access with passwords until we can replace the whole system. There's no telling whether the system had been compromised or not."

Terrence didn't say anything and simply entered the room. He was well aware that even though the enemy would expect them to react in that manner, not doing anything was an even bigger risk. He was about to search for what he wanted to see when he noticed that Kira had entered the room as well. "I'm not going to watch my porn collection, Yamato, so you can just leave me here."

"But the security protocol…"

"I memorized the protocol," Terrence said, cutting him off. "But if you insist, then go and stand outside the room."

There was a sound of a door opening and closing. Finally alone, Terrence quickly entered the commands to retrieve the video recordings he wanted. Unlike the normal security videos, they were from cameras installed at locations known only to the I9's top chain of command and select personnel at the base, of which only he remained. It was quite normal to expect that any attacking enemy will seek to disable security cameras so having redundant network was necessity. However, the number of cameras installed on the auxiliary system was a bit limited. Nevertheless, he only needed to see one video recording.

The one from the hangar.

Terrence had to prevent himself from looking away at the murderous scene in front of him. The hangar crew was like a flock of lambs being preyed by a pack of hungry wolves; their attackers were certainly highly trained.

After the video's time had been fast forwarded to what was fifteen minute later, he saw someone picking the attackers one by one before finally killing the last one that was in Dammerungsfee cockpit.

Taking into the account that the wreckage of the enemy's reconfigurable prototype was found near the base, Terrence believed that he was the first to see **Kira **in person.

The surprise was just the beginning, though as the impostor managed to get Dammerungsfee up and running in just a few minutes. Even taking into account that Kira Yamato, the real one, probably didn't encrypt the mobile suit operating, it was difficult to accept the doppelganger could master its control in such a short time. He didn't even have time to ponder about it as the video showed the unarmed stolen mobile suit reaching for moved toward the compartment where ORION module was stored.

As he watched it arming itself, Terrence couldn't even begin to wonder how the enemy knew which module to take. Even though both Guardian and Dammerungsfee were designed to be customized with different modules according to the mission specification, the ORION module which was suited for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit warfare was tailor made for Dammerungsfee just as multiple-engagement capable ELEANA module was designed for Guardian.

Although he has yet to see the recording of the short scuffle between Guardian and Dammerungsfee, he has lost the appetite to do so. Even then, without watching the video he already knew that the fake Kira managed to reach a very high harmonization with the gunmetal black mobile suit.

It scared him.

* * *

"Ryanna?"

"Hmm?" the girl replied absentmindedly while looking at a nearby fountain.

"I was wondering…" Shinn stopped when he suddenly became the focus of the girl in front of him, "um… you know… well…"

"Well?" she pressed on.

"Maybe we can… go steady, you know, like er… girlfriend or boyfriend?" he managed to finished though it strayed a bit from the well-rehearsed speech he prepared the night before.

Ryanna was silent for a moment. "Can you kiss me?"

Shinn was caught by surprise by the answer. "Kiss you here now?"

She smiled and nodded. "Then I'll give your answer."

Two of them kissed, their inexperience was evident from the awkward way they did it.

After they had broken the kiss, Ryanna had a small smile on her lips. "I would love to…"

"Then, will you become my girlfriend?" Shinn asked excitedly.

"But I have to pass."

A frown creased his face. "Huh?"

The girl still had the smile but she was shaking her head. "In fact, maybe we should be seeing other people as well."

Desperate, Shinn grabbed her hands. "Why? Don't you like me?"

"I like you very much, Shinn but…" she hesitated.

"But what?"

"Promise that you will not go ballistic at what I'm going to say?"

It was rather hard for him to give his word when his mind was going through a lot of possible scenarios but in the end he acquiesced. "Okay."

Ryanna gazed into his eyes when he made that promise as if searching for something. "Shinn, you may not realize this… but I'm not the girl inside your heart and mind."

It took him a few seconds to digest what she was saying. "But Ryanna, I already told you about Stellar and our relationship was not like that."

"Shinn," she said, cutting him off.

"Yes?"

"What kind of food did Stellar like?"

"I… I don't know."

"Her hobby?"

"I'm not sure either."

"What is her dislike?"

He shook his head. "That's why I told you that the relationship with Stellar wasn't like that."

"Then, let me ask you… what kind of food I like?"

"Sandwich. Club sandwich with Earl Grey."

Ryanna's smile became a bit wider and Shinn took it as a good sign.

"Okay, how about my hobby?"

"Reading."

"Good, so the next question is: what do I hate?"

"Hypocrites."

"My name?"

"Ryanna Kim… though I can't seem to understand the point of asking me all these questions."

The girl sighed. "The point I'm trying to make, Shinn, is that you get first three answers wrong; or if you look it at another way, you get first three answers correct."

The weight of her remark bludgeoned Shinn like a giant sledgehammer. Face stricken, he ventured a question even though it felt bitter in his mouth, "Are you saying that…"

She nodded. "You also told me that her favorite color is red and when she was ten, she had a big teddy bear because she couldn't sleep in the dark alone." Ryanna pointed a finger at the man in front of her. "You, to put it simply, like her."

"NO!" he countered, almost shouting. "I like you!"

"I like you too. But you like her better." Before Shinn could say anything, Ryanna put a finger on his lips. "Promise to answer my next question truthfully?"

He nodded.

After removing her finger, she continued, "Have you ever talk about me when you're with her?"

To his panic, the young man couldn't remember the time when he did. But he came out with a counter. "But I was talking about work. I can't be talking about my personal life when I'm working."

"You didn't talk much about your main job as Skyknight's test pilot."

"Well, about that…"

"Look, although you may not like her very much, but without you realizing, Lady Attha has taken a very important place in your life to the extent that I could never displace it without doubting myself. Even if you stop talking about her when we're together or you start talking about me when you're with her, there will be no denying that it's only due to what I said today."

"But…"

"When we kissed just now, I felt like kissing my brother." Ryanna sighed again. "If only I have an 'oniichan' complex then our relationship could probably work out." She smirked. "But I only have a necro fetish, right?"

"Ryanna…"

The said girl put a hand on Shinn's cheek fondly. "Please understand, Shinn. I have to stop 'us' now because if I don't, then it's going to hurt us even more, later."

Shinn hung his head dejectedly. "Ryanna, I'm… I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Besides, even though I already asked for a transfer from the carrier, it's not that we wouldn't be seeing each other from time to time."

He snapped his head at her. "You already asked for a transfer? So today…"

"I wanted to confirm it with the kiss. Besides, I wanted to test the old saying 'incest is the best'."

Despite his somber mood just few seconds before, Shinn couldn't help frowning at that statement. "You're having weird ideas again."

She simply shrugged. "I was curious."

The rejection caused Shinn to be in the conundrum that even lasted two days later when he followed Murdoch fishing. The said man didn't even look at Shinn as his eyes were on his fishing line. "So, you got dumped by your girlfriend."

"Yeah," Shinn said dejectedly as he casted his own line.

The older man observed that Shinn didn't even put the bait on the hook but didn't bother pointing that out. "So that's why you're in the dump."

"Yeah."

"I see. Right now you're feeling sorry for yourself."

"Yeah.

"Oh, in that case let me help. Put down your fishing line and stand near the edge of the lake."

Mutely, Shinn did as he was instructed.

"Now, bend down your body at 45 degrees angle, you know, like when you bow."

"Like this?" the younger man said absently as he bowed.

"That's good," Murdoch said as he got up, a grin on his face.

Shinn barely registered the foot on his buttock before he was sent into the lake. Sputtering water, he turned to Murdoch, angered by what the man did. "FUCK YOU!"

"Hey, I was trying to help you to get into the mood," Murdoch said while feigning innocence.

"WHAT MOOD?!"

"You know, being depressed… it's easier to feel sorry for yourself and all that if you're wet and cold."

Shinn wanted to scream and scream profanities at the man but deciding that it would be useless to do so. Instead, he got up and sat back at his place, ignoring water dripping from his form.

"Here."

"What?" Shinn barked until he realized the offered flask.

"My wife prepared tea and sandwich for me and the 'handsome and kind young man who visited that day' whose name she forgot. Since I can't see anyone that even remotely fit the description around, I guess you'll have to do." Murdoch said as he tossed a wrapped object at Shinn.

"Thanks," the young man as he caught it.

"Don't mention it. I'm always willing to help boot idiots into the lake anytime."

"I don't mean that."

"Oh, don't worry. I don't mean it too. I think it's a hassle to be kicking them into the lake when they could have done it by themselves."

The man next to him rolled his eyes at that statement.

"So, if you've decided not to mop around, would you care telling me about the whole thing?"

After letting out a very big weary breath, Shinn told him what Ryanna told him. Suprisingly, Murdoch listened to each word attentively and didn't interrupt him at any point. After he had finished telling his story, he looked at the older man and asked, "So, what do you think about the whole thing?"

"Well," Murdoch paused, "First both of us need to stand up and stretch our bodies."

Shinn followed the other man's recommendation and once again he was pushed in the lake. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" he sputtered, ignoring the grassy taste of moss inside his mouth.

"That's my question, brat! What the hell is wrong with YOU, thinking of 'lil princess in that manner?"

"Hey, it's not that I can help thinking about Cagalli all the time!"

"There!" Murdoch said while pointing at Shinn accusingly. "Talking about her so casually, in that intimate manner!" His eyes widened. "Oh god! The wrench that I threw at your thick skull three weeks ago rattled your empty brain!"

Shinn gritted his teeth in anger. "Look here, old man! I'm telling you that I like her. Is that so hard to believe?"

Murdoch cocked an eyebrow. "Right… If so why do you like her?"

"Well, she's beautiful and I do like her courageous attitude. Plus, she always stands up for what she believes to be right."

"So, you like her because of those qualities."

"Yeah!"

Murdoch chuckled. "So, in the end, Ryanna is right. You do like the 'lil princess after all. Heh, it would have been quite easy if you came clean earlier on rather than trying to mislead me into thinking that there was something wrong with the girl."

If not the fact that he was in a lake instead of being on a ground, Shinn would have considered burrowing a hole to hide his head.

* * *

Lacus snapped the book close and put in on the table in front of her. It was rather interesting that her progress in understanding the current conflict was greatly aided by a mere martial art book. When she picked up the book the read, it was to help her calm herself. But two concepts in that book caught her eyes.

Being a book on Karate, it mentioned about the two types of martial art styles that a martial artist would chose from: 'sei' and 'dou'. Sei referred to the calm and calculating way the martial artist conduct himself in order to defeat his enemy. Dou martial artist, on the other hand, would focus on increasing his strength to an explosive level in order to overwhelm his opponent.

Even though Lacus wasn't sure whether such concept really existed or whether they are true or not, but that wasn't the important part. The important part was the underlying fundamentals. Martial arts evolved along with humanity's own and perhaps it couldn't be too far to surmise that despite the progression, they were extensions of human natural flight or fight mechanism honed to perfection through practice, improvement and last but not least, observation of human's inborn abilities.

Hence, by just a simple deduction, Lacus had come to a conclusion that none of the previous theories explained the phenomena regarding Coordinators, SEEDS and APEX sufficiently, even those by 'The Observers'. She wasn't sure whether the theory that she came up with after reading the book was correct, but it did help explain the differences.

Despite the artificial way they came into being, Coordinators were not something unnatural. The gene manipulation that brought fourth their advent weren't something that went against nature; perhaps there were 'Coordinators' that came into existent in the humankind history randomly though their numbers were certainly small. However, even though Coordinators were thought to be the final evolution of humankind, perhaps, that was wrong. Rather than being the ultimate human, a Coordinator was just one of the many permutations that humankind would have. That was why despite having superior latent abilities, a Coordinator might have a genetic deficiency that could mean that the subsequent generation would be more and more sterile than the previous. The only way to prevent that is to have offspring with a Natural but that in turn would 'dilute' the Coordinator abilities.

If her theory held, eventually Coordinators would disappear, either through extinction or through natural genetic dilution. Of course that could be prevented through direct cloning of Coordinators but that process was fraught with many problems of its own.

As for SEED and APEX, she believed that they weren't simply two different paths of humankind evolution but perhaps rather the two sides of the same coin. SEED and APEX would only manifest themselves when their bearers face great dangers or stress. Borrowing the 'sei' and 'do' concept, SEED and APEX were highly evolved natural humankind reactionary mechanism that had to be 'chosen' by the bearer of the said evolved mechanism. If that was the case, then it would have explained sufficiently why most SEEDS bearers were Coordinators whereas their aggressive APEX counterparts were Naturals. Coordinators, having more cognitive abilities would subconsciously chose SEEDS whereas the user of APEX, most often soldiers under LOGOS' command would really on their intuitive abilities instead.

Of course, there were few exceptions to the rule such as Cagalli manifesting SEED ability despite being a Natural.

Furthermore, a Natural with activated APEX abilities certainly could fight at par against a Coordinator that activated SEED abilities. By that extension, a Coordinator with APEX ability could easily defeat one with SEEDS. However, the explosive nature behind APEX meant that it could be maintained only for a short time before its user would be afflicted with pain. SEED, on other hands could be maintained for a long time.

If her assumption was correct, the theory behind the so-called 'Neo-Sapiens' could be questioned as well. Rather than being the true evolution path, it could be caused by the bearer managed to achieve the combined power of both SEEDS and APEX. However herein lay another question. Tendency aside, only one ability could be activated permanently.

But **Kira **managed to activate both to reach another dimension; a terrifying dimension. However, that supposed to be impossible. Apart from having to overcome the synchronization of both ability types, he managed to suppress the pain of activating both abilities at the same time.

Lacus had never believed that **Kira **was artificial intelligence because even if such thing existed at that time, it didn't need to simulate human traits to be a dangerous adversary. Apart from that, unlike humans which normally operate way below their potential, computers were designed to be running at optimum right off the bat.

That was why she was very confident that **Kira** was a human since there was no way he would act in what seemed to be an 'inefficient' manner. And with that being the truth and aided by numerous information gathered from his fight with the real Kira Yamato and Shinn Asuka, Lacus had already fully understood what kind of person he was including his abilities and perhaps weaknesses as well.

The knowledge had terrified her to her very soul as she couldn't even start to comprehend the level or the extend **Kira **was willing to go in order to achieve his plan. In order to stop him, she had to find out his plan first though she had a feeling that she really didn't want to know.

However, for world's sake as well as the man she loved, Lacus had to do it.

* * *

Nothing like spending the whole afternoon doing flower arrangement, Shinn decided. Of course, traditionally it was considered as a woman's art but Shinn wasn't really a traditionalist to begin with. After all, it help him to forget the dilemma he was facing, no, he corrected himself, a dilemma sitting next to him. While his hands arranged the flowers in front of him, he stole a glance at her.

"Were you looking at me?" the woman asked, glaring at him.

"What are you talking about, hime? Aren't you the one gawking at me right now?" he replied, trying to act nonchalant.

"Err… no. Um, I'm just um… looking at your design."

It was a surprise to him that Cagalli didn't come up with a retort; she normally had one or two ready to throw in his direction. "Arrangement, Cagalli-hime. Not design. We're not building a robot tree or something here."

"Whatever," came the mumbled reply.

A week had passed since Ryanna gave him the cold shoulder and four days since he was given the 'cold treatment' by Murdoch, yet he was still trying to come to grips with the reality that he was supposed to like the woman beside him. Sure, they stopped trying to kill each other and there had been a rather sharp decrease in insults and barbed comments but surely that didn't prove that he like her, right?

Somehow, he thought that it was rather irrational of him to even think about her lips; more so entertaining the thought of touching them with his own.

He sighed; the whole matter was completely causing him to lose his focus on the arrangement in front of him. Because of that the progressing work of art was missing something. Right, another flower would be needed to complete it. Having visually memorized all the flowers to his right side, he simply reached for the right one to complete the job.

Only to touched something soft.

Slowly, he turned his head toward his hand only to see that he was touching Cagalli's own. Apparently she was also wanted to take the same flower for her own arrangement.

Shinn's heart skipped a beat before blood began rushing to his face. "Um… er…hey" he began but his thought process were pretty much messed up at that time.

"Can… can you… remove your hand?" Cagalli said timidly, looking away.

As he removed his hand, Shinn concluded the current atmosphere as bizarre. Not only he was being acting like an idiot, which had never happened before, the 'princess' was behaving cutely.

No, the princess wasn't being cute but not being temperamental and verbally abusive as usual.

Although he had admitted that he liked her, was it the real truth?

Events of two of them being together flashed in his mind. First meeting onboard Minerva and him berating her for her foolish ideals, him presenting himself in front of her at the end of the second war and waiting to be punish for what he did only to be surprised when he was let off, the two of them fighting an assassination attempt at the memorial and even the countless hours spent doing the flower arrangement or getting her to do the tea ceremony correctly.

At the end, only her face gazing softly at him remained in his vision and at that time Shinn came to the realization that for better or for worse, he had come to like the spirited woman.

"You know, Shinn, I think that you're pretty amazing."

He even had imagined her saying that and how good that praise made him feel.

"It's the first time I met someone who could sit in one place for a very long time. It's advance meditation, isn't it?"

Huh?

It was then Shinn realized that he didn't imagine her; Cagalli was actually sitting in front of him.

"But to think, five hours just like that; I don't think I can't be that disciplined enough."

Five hours? He raised his head to look at the clock. It was already eleven o'clock. Wait, since he came to teach her at five thirty in the afternoon that meant he spent five hours thinking about the whole thing?

God, he must have looked pretty foolish, sitting there with a glazed look for so long!

"Shinn," Cagalli breathed.

The man blushed. "Yes?"

"I'm wondering…"

"Wondering?"

"Since you have been spacing out for a long time…"

"Spacing out for a long time…" he parroted.

Cagalli held a finger in front of her with a mischievous look, "How would you feel if I poke this at your legs?"

The man panicked at the ramification of that statement. "No! Don't do it!"

"But I still want to do it…Shinn-_kun_" she continued as she closed the distance.

Shinn was overwhelmed by the exploding world of prickly sensations.

* * *

"We're going to space?" Dearka asked as Athrun and he walked past a woman officer who saluted at them. "It looks like the situation is very serious for the order to be given so suddenly."

"You would have looked more convincing if you weren't saying those words while looking at her bottom." Athrun commented.

"Ah, my bad. But cut me some slack. I'm a nature lover, you know."

"And a possible sexual harassment criminal if you don't stop. Right now, I'm the captain of the ship and since right now we're not following ZAFT's chain of command, I can just throw you in the brig for insubordination even if you're our top pilot."

"Geez. You're a stick in a mud, you know?"

"I got that a lot when I served at Minerva so let me tell you the taunt wouldn't work."

"Meanie. Luna had it tough."

"I envy your ability to make such an idiotic and carefree statement," Athrun said while promising himself that he would use the exact words on Dearka when the man settled down.

Dearka's face suddenly became serious. "I know it's not my business but what happened to Minerva and Captain Talia in the second war?"

Athrun merely shook his head, indicating that he wouldn't say anything. He still had trouble believing that Captain Talia had an affair with Chairman Gilbert and it broke her heart when he was killed in the second war. Even though the man was a megalomaniac, Athrun believed that on the most basic level, Gilbert and Talia loved each other. However, even though the man was killed, his creation, a large armed cruiser crewed by his handpicked fanatical followers, poised to threaten the whole world. It was in the battle to defeat it that Talia and her subordinate Arthur Trine sacrificed themselves along with Minerva to pave the way for an attack on the cruiser.

Suddenly he felt like he was carrying a very heavy burden on his shoulders.

"Don't worry, I'll be there to cover your back," Dearka said as if understanding his unspoken thoughts.

"Thanks," Athrun said while smiling at the blonde man. Despite his appearance, Dearka was a dependable guy when it really mattered and judging by his gut feeling, that time would come soon.

Suddenly the alarm went off, echoing throughout the corridor. "ALERT! ALERT! WE DETECT A HOSTILE MOBILE SUIT SQUADRON COMING TOWARDS US!"

"Permission to speak freely, Captain _Zala_," Dearka said as they ran.

"What?" the other man replied, preoccupied with the looming threat.

"I think you're a jinx."

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (4th September 2009)**

1. The meaning of the title: deceit is spreading under the cover of chaos. Mock orange flowers are associated with deceit.

2. Finally, since I've finished this, I'm going to do something I haven't been doing for quite some time: read gundam fanfics!

3. Right... That reminds me. Um... Mr. Queen of Fuckin (), if you're reading this... since you posted a review on Fallen Angel that day, I have been wondering: should I pretend that I'm disturbed by the comment or it's okay for me to let it be? Oh well, whatever, I think you were bored and wanted some attention. Have to oblige you a little bit, I guess. Anyway, have a good day.


	14. Mary Poppins

Barzhakov sat on the veranda, looking at the moonless sky. "Beautiful night, isn't it, Magdelene?" he said to his daughter in law.

The said woman put a mug of coffee on the table next to him. "Reminds me of him. He proposed to me at a night like this. When I asked him why he chose such a romantic night to propose, he told me that I was the only moon he needed."

The former captain chuckled. "He got that from his mother's side, of course."

"I don't believe think his mother proposed to his father."

The man snorted.

"Father, it seems to me that you have been a bit distracted ever since that man came last month."

"That man? You mean Shauzer?"

Magdelene nodded.

"He wanted me to rejoin the military to help it recover from a crisis."

"But…" his daughter in law uttered in alarm.

He held up a hand. "Don't worry. I declined. I'm not young anymore… and besides… If it's true that it's facing a crisis, then all the more reason I shouldn't join."

"Why?" she asked, puzzled by the unexpected comment.

Barzhakov had a faraway look.

_He stood in front of the woman, gazing at her sternly. "No. I can't just let you go. I can't even begin to describe how lucky you are one of our ships managed to pick up the transponder's signal three months ago, with you just being unconscious because the trauma produced by the high-g. That kind of thing was unheard of, especially considering that it was a suicide mission. "_

"_The spherical cockpit dampened the shock, so the effect wasn't as bad as I expected. Besides, it was designed to ensure very high pilot survival rate, something even ZAFT didn't work on for their prototypes." _

"_Yes, but 'that's all folks', perhaps you have forgotten that we have no such mobile suit anymore. You're lucky, I'll give you that, but even that streak of luck wouldn't last. You already did much for us so don't go and I'll answer the higher-ups regarding whole thing."_

_The woman lips curved into a bittersweet smile. "I appreciate that. But right now, we're the only one who can deal with them."_

"_Why?" he demanded._

"_Isn't this what the organization was established to do?"_

"_Yes. But there are only a handful of us right now! I have yet to get Shauzer and the others to join."_

"_Captain, you can do that later. Right now I have to go."_

_Barzhakov put his hands on her shoulders. "Listen here! In war, sometimes we have to sacrifice the few in order to protect the rest! Listen to me! Even though you commandeer the Strike LANCE and attack them to prevent them from ambushing the relief convoy, there's no guarantee that you'll succeed and your life will forfeit in vain. Plus the convoy will still be attacked."_

_The woman looked down. "I will succeed," she said with an unwavering conviction. _

"_Are you so stupid that you're not afraid to die?"_

_She raised her head, revealing tears glistening in her smoky eyes. "I'm scared." She closed her eyes. "After that experience, I have lost my nerve. I realized that deep down, I don't want to die."_

"_All the more reasons not to go."_

"_No," she said while removing his hands slowly. "Even though I'm walking into a trap and may not return, I must go, not because I'm being altruistic but because the relief convoy…" She stopped, opened her eyes and smiled again. "I will go because I'm selfish. Very selfish. That's why it's okay… and that's why I will go and you wouldn't stop me because being selfless means being able to put away your personal emotions."_

_In the end, she went away but didn't return. _

"I already lost the ability to lead... because I had become selfish as well."

* * *

Standing on top of the carrier's flight deck, wearing his Confederation uniform, Sven looked out of place since the ship he was on belonged to ORB. However, he really didn't really care about such minor differences as he was stationed there because he had a duty to perform; at the current moment, the duty was all that mattered.

His mission to conduct flight tests together with ORB's newest reconfigurable mobile suit and would transmit the data collected from all mock battles to the ANDES research centre to improve Thunderstorm. While such an act would have been called espionage, in reality that wasn't the case as Erica and her technicians at Morgenroete would surely use the data to fine-tune Skyknight as well. With STI went off the radar since the accident involving its mobile suit and Integrated Design Bureau lagging behind since the hijacking of its prototype, the only really viable competition were ANDES and Morgenroete's prototypes.

Sven walked away from the deck when he saw the 'lollipop man' or duly known as the air traffic controller came out of a nearby cabin. The ground beneath the Strike Noir pilot's feet trembled, telling him that it was time. Slowly, an orange-colored mobile armour slowly being elevated from the hangar deck onto the flight deck. Guided by the lollipop man, it then slowly taxied into the beginning of the railway and stopped while a release bar caught hold of the mobile armor's launchbar.

The mobile armour then increased its thrust, its low-noise ionic propulsion betrayed by the large trails of propellant the boosters were blasting. After building the sufficient thrust, it was given the go-ahead to launch.

Unrestrained no further, ORB-00 Shizuka sped along railway. After reaching the end of it, the mobile armour dropped a bit until the wings have sufficient lift and it began to gain attitude.

Sven watched the aircraft disappearing over the horizon, ignoring the familiar Skyknight moving to launch. Even though he had fought in different war theatres, he has heard about the orange-colored mobile suit whose air-frame formed the basis for Skyknight design.

A truly multi-role mobile armour that could be reconfigured into mobile suit, the battery powered Shizuka gained recognition for its high performance despite being a battery powered mobile suit.

A buzzer echoed in the air and Skyknight was launched. Meanwhile, two WASP units emerged from the hangar deck.

Sven opened the door to the main bridge and entered it. Although it would meant that he wouldn't have any new battle data to transmit, it would be interesting to see the fight between Shizuka and Skyknight. Besides since Representative Attha was the one piloting Shizuka, it would be fine. It was obvious to him that there was something between Shinn and her though due to his own lack of social experience, Sven couldn't understand it. Shinn complained about the representative a lot but yet still remain working for her; it was only logical for him to leave the employment if he hated her that much.

Regardless, that strange relationship would have as yet to be determined impact on Sven's real mission: shadowing Shinn Asuka. Chosen for his combat skill and deemed as the most stable compared to Muddie and Shams, he was to observe the former ZAFT pilot. Shinn was initially believed to be leaning toward Gilbert's political belief though observations by him as well as another unidentifiable agent seemed to clear that up. However it remained a strong possibility that an attempt to recruit the man by the faction sympathetic to Gilbert.

It was certainly made clear that if Shinn defects or there was ample prove that he was a traitor all along, Sven was to immediately terminate him and was given a carte blanche to use any mean necessary to do so.

"You're here to watch the simulation?" the captain said as Sven entered the main bridge.

His subordinate stood up. "I'm sorry but the bridge is off limit…" The man didn't finish his words as the captain raised his hand.

"Representative Attha gave an express permission."

"Yes sir!"

The captain pointed at an empty console. "Mr. Bayan, I know that it's different from being at the place in person but you can watch the battle there.

"Thank you." Sven sat at the place and a holographic projection came to life, displaying two triangles, each with a small label next to it.

The triangles remained in their positions until one broke away and through some maneuvers, ended behind the other one.

"It begins."

* * *

Shinn narrowed his eyes and engaged the airbrake while simultaneously performing a roll, physically preparing for the sudden pressure on his body due to the move. As he had predicted, Cagalli didn't anticipate the move and Shizuka overshot and Skyknight ended up just behind it, ready for the kill.

All he needed to do was adjust so that it would be in his crosshair and the mock battle would end in his favor.

As if, knowing what was on his mind, Shizuka deployed several chaff and flares to confuse Skyknight's radar and infra red detector as well impair Shinn's vision a bit. Then it accelerated downward for two seconds, performed an S-roll and reconfigured into mobile suit to let loose a couple of shots at Skyknight. Even without waiting to see whether the shots hit their targets or not, it reconfigured into mobile suit and escaped from any possible counterattacked.

It looked like the princess didn't slack off after her near defeat at his hand in the second war.

However, even if her piloting skill had improved significantly, even she had landed few glancing shots, even if he liked her, Shinn wasn't the type that would hold back. The person that he could call a mentor once told him that the cruelest thing he can do to his compatriots is to hold back during practice battle because by doing so he would be retarding their growth as well as cause them to become over confident thus more prone to make more mistakes.

It was very ironic that the same man was Athrun Zala, the walking epitome of 'holding back' especially when dealing with girls.

However, Shinn held on to his advice, making sure that he giving everything he got, even to the point of ensuring that he overkilled Shizuka the five times he was successful in getting a lock on it. In return, Cagalli had him once.

An impressive feat for someone who was used to pushing a pen to perform a diplomatic and political maneuver fighting him who practiced dog fighting often.

"As expected from the man handpicked to be Skyknight's pilot by Erica," Cagalli complimented him as Shizuka fell behind Skyknight's formation as they began to return home. The mock battle had been completed, hopefully with enough data to satisfy Erica who was back at ORB researching on Skyknight's joints vulnerability to sands and other foreign matters.

Shinn had to bit his lips to calm himself so that his reply would sound the usual way instead of being nervous at not knowing how to reply_ or too happy_ at being praised. It was fortunate that they were on radio only at that time or else it would look weird. "To be honest, I think you did pretty well too."

The radio was silent for a while before Cagalli spoke again. "You're just saying that to placate me."

Shinn shook his head. "A five centimeter anchovy is an anchovy and will never be a two meter-long tuna that managed to get away."

"Um… I don't get what you're trying to say."

Cringing as he realized the nonsense Murdoch had been spouting was starting to influence him, the Skyknight's pilot scrambled to find the correct explanation. "What it meant is that there's no sense in trying to disguise the no matter how good or bad it is because it wouldn't change the situation… I think." Feeling that the explanation was inadequate, he decided to explain it further, "there's no point me trying to curry favors from you through false praises because the statements would come back to bite me later."

"Oh…" she was quiet for a few more seconds. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Maybe the wrench Murdoch threw at him did some damage after all since he thought that flying mobile armors side by side seemed a romantic thing to do.

There was a beep and the carrier captain appeared on the communication screen. "Lady Attha, sorry for breaking the transmission silence but I would like to request that you return to the ship immediately."

"Why?" Cagalli asked, puzzled as they were already on their way home.

Judging from the captain's behavior, Shinn could guess what was happening and what would happen next.

"One of our carriers is under attack!" the captain answered the question.

"By whom?"

"We're not sure yet by from the report we received, we have reasons to believe that they belong to ZAFT."

Cagalli narrowed her eyes. "Situation?"

"Not good."

"Coordinates of the carrier."

"Alpha thirty six Beta seventy two."

"That's not far away from my location."

Shinn sighed quietly as he had predicted what would happen next correctly, unfortunately.

"Shinn and I will go there to lend support," Cagalli continued.

At that times like that, Shinn hated himself for being right.

"But Lady Attha…" the captain tried to plead uselessly.

"Launch two WASP modules for weapons support and two more modules for reenergizing our respective mobile suits."

"Yes, my lady!" the captain acknowledged even though worried was quiet evident on his face. "I'll launch them immediately," he said before signing off.

"You're not telling me to back off or something, Shinn?" Cagalli asked when she realized that the man was quiet throughout the conversation.

"Cagalli, right now, I don't know what to say. The logical part of me feels that you're quiet capable of handling the attackers but my heart keeps telling me not to let you endanger yourself and instead go alone."

"I think that's your ego," Cagalli said tartly.

"You keep working at that magical mouth of yours and hopefully we can stop the attack without firing a single shot."

"Whatever. So your conclusion?"

"The one I'm favoring right now, what my rational part concluded, in somewhere in the middle of those two."

"Let's hear it."

"I think that you're pretty capable of handling the attackers and for me not endanger myself, thereby letting you go alone."

Cagalli's silence was deafening even though it lasted only a minute.

"Shinn,"

"Yeah?"

"Right now…" her voice sounded as if she was gritting her teeth, "I'm imagining myself stomping on your beaten body."

"_Oh good heavens!_ I've never thought that hime-sama is into such a kinky and certainly dreadful and demeaning conduct!"

"Arrgh!"

* * *

Cagalli rolled the joystick a few times, leading her mobile armour to a series of maneuvers. Her gambit worked as a Gouf overshot and after a minor correction, ended up in her target reticule. She pressed the button, and her opponent was no more.

"Not bad, hime-sama," Shinn said while engaging his own enemy.

She couldn't help but smiled a bit at that praise. Even though she was still mad at him over the dominatrix insult, his words had helped shook away the nervousness she had felt entering into the skirmish. In fact, if she didn't know better, she would have thought that Shinn actually knew what she was feeling at that time and insulted her so that she would be distracted from her own worry.

Cagalli felt warm at that thought.

"Stupid hime! Pay attention to your surrounding!" Shinn said as Skyknight shot in her general direction.

Even though she was not in real danger from the friendly fire, the action quickly extinguished all warm thoughts of him. "Damn you, idiot! Couldn't you aim properly?"

"I was aiming correctly, stupid!" Shinn insulted as Skyknight reconfigured into mobile armour to engage in a melee attack with a ZAKU.

"Huh?"

Even though Skyknight was trying to slash its enemy with beam saber in its left hand, its right hand fired off another shot in her direction. "Don't just stand there! LEFT! LEFT!"

Cagalli looked to her left and sure enough, a new enemy began moving toward her while the Murasame it had just damaged exploded behind him.

The computer had identified it as an unknown but the ORB representative had seen few photos to know what it was: the stolen ZAFT prototype. It was a good thing that ZAFT's cover up operation wasn't that good in the first place because she would have mistaken the attack on one of ORB's carrier groups as being instigated by ZAFT. Apparently, that was what the attackers were aiming for: to provoke ORB into waging a war against ZAFT. She smiled wryly. It was time for her to show them that her country wasn't a puppet that could be stringed along to do anyone's bidding.

The prototype opened fire and Cagalli slammed on the airbrake, letting a beam shot passed in front of Shizuka harmlessly. Reconfiguring into mobile suit, she counterattacked.

* * *

"Cagalli!" Shinn shouted while dispatching the enemy he was fighting. He was about to joined in the fray to help her if not for a voice.

"**Don't worry, Asuka. She'll be alright for the time being."**

"Who's there?"

A black mobile suit slowly descended in front of Skyknight while a familiar face appeared on his face. **"Boo?" **the voice asked.

Shinn's eyed widened. "You!"

The figure held a finger in front of his lips in a hushing manner.** "Shh… Don't shout. Even though this is an encrypted channel, we don't want to her to know, right?"**

"Kira! You're supposed to be… dead!

"**Really? I remember shooting your Murasame down that day, not the other around. Did you enjoy the swim?"**

"Huh?" Realization of what the other man said hit him hard. "So you're the one I fought?"

"**Good to see you still remember. Yes, I'm the one."**

Shinn noticed a discrepancy in the man's statement. "Wait. I fought Kira in the dessert and he was piloting a big mobile suit, not you. Who the hell are you?"

"**A big mobile suit?" **the man asked quizzically. **"Ah, the form before the purge. Whatever. Anyway. I'm Kira."**

"The hell you are!"

The black mobile suit slowly brought front its anti-ship sword and activated the beam cutter on it. **"So, should I give you a more compelling reason to believe me?"**

Even though the anti-ship sword was a bit short, unlike the one he used while piloting Destiny, Shinn saw no reason to lower his guard. He brought out Skyknight's beam saber. "Dream on, bastard!"

Like a pair of rabid wolves fighting for dominance, the two mobile suits exchanged attacks and counterattacks. Although Shinn had been sure that the person that he was fighting with was not Kira, his instinct was telling him otherwise. The fighting style was quite similar that it was uncanny.

"**Is there something going on between you and Cagalli?" Kira **asked as his mobile suit released its left hand hold on the sword to punch Skyknight away.

"Wha? What are you talking about?" Shinn asked as Skyknight lunged at its opponent.

"**It's obvious what I'm talking about. You have been going out with her."**

"What the hell?" Shinn uttered as he fire successive bursts. "Why do you care so much? Screw that! Why are you with the enemy if you care about your sister?"

His opponent evaded the attacks easily before pulling out its five-barrel beam machine gun and fired off a short burst. **"You're running away from the question, Asuka. We're talking about you and Cagalli. Do you like her?" **

Shinn easily avoided the attacks even though it had been obvious from the very beginning that their first face-to-face engagement wasn't to be a duel to the death; the rather conversational tone of their communication proved that. Although his minions were attacking the ORB's carrier group, the man himself seemed to have another objective altogether.

"**Well?"**

Before Shinn could answer, a shot forced his adversary to sidestep a bit.

"**I have underestimated her skills a bit," Kira **remarked. **"I thought that she could only fight the prototype to a standstill and for you to help her; I didn't expect her to win. Her skills have improved significantly since the battle at ORB that day." **

"What the hell? You're talking as if this is a game!"

"**What's the different between a game and reality anyway? I'll let you answer the question later." Kira **fired at Shizuka, easily following the mobile suit as it turned and swerved, forcing it to continuously evade.

What infuriated Shinn was that it did so while simultaneously engaging Skyknight with its anti-ship sword.

"**I didn't know that she'll be or otherwise I wouldn't have come. We'll have another talk in the future, Asuka."**

In the moment for Shinn to blink, the mobile suit had shifted its position to appear just behind Skyknight, with the latter's left arm chopped off.

"**As a reward for keeping you alive, keep our conversation secret from her and if you really like her…" **The black mobile suit stored its deactivated sword at its back and began moving away. **"Protect her, even from me."**

Shinn watched mutely at the rapidly disappearing mobile suit, wondering what really happened and what should he do.

* * *

She was just worried for the safety of her subordinate, Cagalli tried to convince herself as she got out of the Shizuka's cockpit. Somehow that failed to explain why her heart clenched tightly when she saw Skyknight being slashed by its opponent; it also didn't explain why her body felt numb at that time. Perhaps she need a long soak cool her head as the large wave of relief that washed over her seemed to persist even after returning to the carrier.

The Shizuka's pilot turned toward Skyknight that was taxiing into the parking bay, once again reminding herself that the pilot was her subordinate and it was natural that she care for him. Even though she had decided to go and rest, she ended up waiting for him.

Slowly, the cockpit's hatch opened and Shinn emerged from it. Immediately, she knew that something was not right as Shinn very slowly got down. Without meaning too, she ended up walking toward him.

"You screwed up in that fight, didn't you?" Cagalli insulted, trying to goad him to express his emotion.

"Yeah…" Shinn replied absentmindedly without even turning around to address her.

The reply wasn't what Cagalli expected. "You really sucked at this, aren't you?"

"Hmm…"

A frown appeared on her face. Something was very wrong with the man to shrug off her taunts just like that. "Hey, look here!" she said as she pulled him toward her and noted the dazed look on him. It occurred to her that he was being depressed because he had lost to the black mobile suit. "Look, the mobile suit that you fought against is more powerful in the first place so you shouldn't be ashamed of losing to it. If it really bothers you, keep practicing and practicing until you can beat him with your eyes closed. Also, Skyknight's performance will be increased in the future so don't let the loss go et to you."

Suddenly, Cagalli found herself being engulfed in a warm embrace. Even though her first instinct was to push her away, she didn't and instead remained in his arms.

"I really don't know what happened," Shinn said softly. "And somehow, I don't know what is right anymore. But right now, the only thing I know is I'll protect you." He gently broke the embrace to look her in the eyes. "I'll protect you."

If she was in a similar position with another person, she would have probably slapped the man away but at that moment Cagalli could only nod dumbly as her cheeks blushed.

"So, Cagalli, please keep doing what you feel right, for the both of us… and I'll do my best at protecting you."

"Yes," she acquiesced; even though she didn't know what he was talking about, she felt that it was the right answer to give.

"Thank you," Shinn said as he slowly walked away.

Cagalli gazed at his back as she put a hand on her cheek. Even though she ended up feeling more and more confused by the exchange, there was no describing the elated feeling of happiness that she was experiencing at that time.

"Shinn, I don't know what really happened at the fight but I really hope that I can protect you as well."

* * *

Fllaga squinted his eyes at the report on the desk before looking at the woman seated in front of him. "I accepted your request to be pulled out from the operation, but I sense that there's another reason apart from the official reason stated in the report that you haven't told me."

"I developed a brother complex?" she replied.

"Huh? What strange things are you spouting now, Ryanna?"

"Ah, sorry about that, sir. Just a figure of speech."

"So, the real reason?"

Ryanna smiled. "It's as I told you, I was beginning to like him. So, even if I don't stop now, I wouldn't be able to continue on with the mission, not without my judgment being clouded by my emotions."

"Hmm… I thought that boy liked Cagalli."

"He asked me to go steady, so if I really want to, I could have accepted and use that advantage. As they say, all's fair in love and warfare."

Fllaga nodded. "You got me there. So, besides being his stalker, any observation that you want to add to the report, off records of course?"

"Yes. You sent me there to observe any attempt by the enemy to undermine the nation's security, mainly the efforts to assassinate the Representative. Initially, that seems to be the case. I had to intervene a little in the skirmish at the monument."

"So that's why her bodyguards appeared earlier than her attackers predicted."

"I took care few of them as well. But later on…"

She then continued detailing the sudden shift in the enemy's attitude. It was as if the enemy suddenly decided to stop aiming for Cagalli's life. That change by itself was rather strange and bizarre because there should be no reason for that to happen just like that. Ryanna decided to approach Shinn actively not only to monitor him for any sign of betrayal, but also to allow her appear inconspicuous while observing matters pertaining to the representative.

From her observation, she concluded that Shinn was a quite trustworthy and loyal. However, there was something else that was developing around him without anyone's knowledge. Ever since he had helped in thwarting the attempt on Cagalli's life, the enemy had become a wee bit more interested in him. She had earmarked suspected agents trailing him when the two of them went on their dates. At first, she suspected that they wanted to exact revenge on him for thwarting their previous missions but even though she had baited some traps, they didn't take it.

"So, you're telling me that there's a possibility that they want to recruit him?"

"No, I can't say for certain. If I say so, it's as if they were observing him."

Fllaga considered his agent's words. If they wanted to recruit him, they would have made attempts to do so. But simple reconnaissance? That was rather strange by itself as they certainly have no time and resource to simply stalk and follow him around. There must be something else at play. He looked at the report. Ryanna had made the correct decision to leave before her emotions would affect her from carrying out her duty. But the vacuum left by her departure should be filled by someone else. Sven was doing his own duty as Shinn's shadow in case the man decided to do something funny but the Strike Noir pilot wasn't cut out for espionage mission. Knowing that no answer was forthcoming, he decided to put it off for another.

The only question was how he should present all the findings to Lacus Clyne so that it could help her? The young leader seemed to be in the middle of finding out something very important that Fllaga wondered whether the new information would be beneficial to her or would simply be a red herring.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but we haven't opened…" Heine said as the door to the establishment opened. Then he stopped and a smile carved itself on his face at the sight of his would be customer. "Well, well, well. This is a bit unexpected, Mrs. Zala. To be honest, I think your husband would have confined you to remain inside the house until you deliver."

"He's not here and the doctor recommended regular walking anyway." Lunamaria said as she shuffled to the table nearby.

"I don't think he prescribed sandwiches along with the exercise."

"I don't care. I'm feeling ravenous right now and could eat a house."

"The House Special it is," Heine said as he went to turn on the grill.

"That's for starters," Luna said as she opened the menu. "I'll also have Chicken Impulse and Beef Ignited." She appraised the menu critically. "How come all the items' names came from mobile suits? Deli'xass, Quayle Striker, Wholemeal Aegis…"

Heine laughed as he sautéd the ingredients for the House Special. "Well, Meyrin complained about the same thing too."

"By the way, where is that sister of mine?"

"She went for some auditing."

_Totally clad in black, Meyrin checked her gears, ensuring that all of them were accounted for and ready for use. Five operatives in front of her nodded, telling her without words that they were ready as well. Each of them held their respective watches and synchronized the time._

"Auditing?"

"Yeah. I came up with the food, and she comes up with the figures and that's how our business operates. Ever since we opened up few branches, she's been busy keeping tab on the finances. Like today, for example, she drops in to check."

_After making sure that the measurement was correct for the third time, she jumped to the ground below as the cord behind her back began to unwind and at the same time braking her descent. Meyrin finally stopped when her face was few centimeters away from the ground. She flipped her body while releasing the harness and landed soundlessly on the floor. She then signaled for three person in a direction before setting on another, followed by the other two._

"I don't think the owner's going to be thrilled at that," Lunamaria said as she eyed the sandwich on its way to her.

"I say. In fact, if I may say so, sometimes the reaction is quite hostile."

"_Get the intruders!" someone shouted as they exchanged fire with Meyrin's team._

"And surprisingly your sister always bust her way through."

_A hand grenade rolled its way toward the place's defenders and a moment later an explosion ended their resistance. Taking the chance of the lull in fighting, Meyrin quickly dashed her way toward the metal door protecting the objective and threw five discs which stuck themselves on it. Ducking back into safety, she pressed a trigger and a very big explosion ripped the obstacle away and her team entered the room. While the two maintained sentry on the newly made entrance, she made her way to the computer._

"Well, that's Meyrin, my sister," Lunamaria said with a hint of pride in her voice before taking a small bite from her sandwich. "She's always good at many things that I can't help but be envious of her. Since she always like numbers, puzzles and mathematics, I bet right now she's having the time of her life," she continued after she swallowed.

"_Haven't you cracked the data yet?" one of Meyrin's subordinates asked as he shot his attacker."_

"_I'm trying my best. You shouting and making a lot of noise isn't helping me."_

"_Well, excuse us for being noisy ma'am, but the enemy didn't know that they're supposed to be quiet when they're trying to kill us," the other quipped. _

"_Then get off my case and just keep firing!" Without even looking up from the console or stopping typing the commands with one hand, Meyrin raised her submachine gun and fired at a sentry who entered through the smaller door. _

Heine began chopping some salami to prepare the next meal for Lunamaria. "Well, she sometimes laments about the lack of excitement in her life, and wished that she could be somewhat like you."

"_You're great as usual, ma'am," one of her subordinates commented as the helicopter they were in had just cleared the area. A full scale assault would be launched shortly to annihilate the base that they had infiltrated; already the artillery shells had begun bombarding the base. _

_Meyrin sighed. "I don't know. If not for the pressure, I would have cracked the encryption key in less than three minutes."_

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (15****th**** September 2009)**

1. Actually, the current chapter is the so-called planned the September chapter whereas the previous chapter was planned to be release last month.


	15. Lady of the lake

He was in front of his console, so transfixed in doing the software maintenance for the mobile suit in front of him that he almost missed the soft voice calling out for him.

"Kira."

In the past, the voice would have caused his heart to flutter but at that time, it filled him with a lot of misgivings as he had wronged her for his own selfish use. Nevertheless, he turned toward her and smiled as honest as he could. "Lacus."

He barely had enough time to react as the said woman threw herself in his arms and buried her face on his chest.

"Kira, I missed you so much…"

His arms automatically encircled her frail body. She had been suffering, he surmised, judging from her condition, and it was all caused by him.

"When I heard about the attack, I was very worried and wanted to come here immediately but…"

"It's okay," he cut off, placating her. "You had your own responsibilities to think about."

She continued nuzzling against his chest. "Kira, I want to stay by your side."

"But Lacus, you're needed by everyone in Earthsphere; I can't be selfish."

"Then why don't you stay with me instead? I'm sure something can be worked out."

Kira was silent for a while. Then he slowly pushed her away all the while maintaining the eye contact. "I know this is selfish of me, Lacus but sorry I can't."

She grasped his shoulders as if they're the only things that could prevent her from drowning in a sea of despair. "Why, Kira? Tell me why." Lacus asked as tears began appearing. "You were there when it happened but yet why do you still insist on staying in the past? Why can't you," she gulped down her sob, "let _her _go?"

Kira hugged her again, with one hand holding her body close to him and another one combing through her hair comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Lacus, truly sorry. I told everyone else to look toward the future even though at the same time I am wallowing in the past." He chuckled. "I suppose I'm a hypocrite after all."

"Then, why can't you do the same?" she sobbed. "Can't you let the past be a part of your memory that you will remember forever and cherish your present life instead?"

"I wanted to, but not when the past was the future that I wanted. Sorry"

The statement was quiet cryptic but to the woman in his arms, it was as clear as a day; he could let go of _her. _

Kira continued, "The only way I can even move on is after I reconciled with the true past and that's why I'm here in UNGARD."

"True past?"

He didn't answer her but instead handed her a small tablet computer. Shakily, she took it and read the information on the screen. The details were about a special force formed just a month after the end of the first war consisting of few selected Eurasian-Atlantic Confederation's soldiers. Sadly, there was virtually no information regarding the exact members that formed the group. However, there was a name, a name caught her eyes.

Cherubim.

Amidst tears, Lacus looked at Kira questioningly.

"Yes, that ship."

Even though she wasn't involved in the second war directly, Lacus knew about the ship. An indigenous Eurasian design inspired by Atlantic's Archangel, the ship was equipped with a Shadow Dancer system, a stealth system derived from Mirage Colloid. Fielded at the end of the first war but didn't enter combat due to a mutiny onboard, nevertheless it had played a very major role in the second war, being involved in many major skirmishes.

However, the ship was purportedly destroyed in the battle against ZAFT's SALVATION, a super scalar fortress built to enforce Gilbert Durandal's Destiny Plan on Earthsphere. But if that was the case then why was it mentioned in the record?

As if knowing what she was thinking about, Kira began his explanation. "Unlike what we and most of the ship's crew had thought Cherubim was not destroyed in the final battle. The captain at that time ordered all personnel to abandon ship and later on, some of them witnessed explosions at the place where the ship was. Despite besides some debris identified as coming from the ship, there wasn't any evidence to really conclude that the destruction of the ship."

Lacus widened her eyes. Kira was being evasive again but she sensed what he was trying to convey: there wasn't any real evidence that _she _really died. She opened her mouth to confirm what she was thinking but she couldn't mention the name; it would be as if she accepted the possibility. Her eyes scanned the tablet again, searching for any information that could disprove it while at the same time feeling bad because she was trying to prove that the woman indeed had passed away.

Unfortunately, she found none. Instead, she found out the few missions that the group had carried out in its short existence and at the end of the list she saw the final mission, codenamed 'Red Riding Hood' along with the date. The date seemed familiar to her…

Then it hit her. At that time, the newly formed UNITY government was sending some humanitarian aid to PLANTs that had been affected by LOGOS attacks. She really remembered the event because she was directly involved with the mission along with the still grieving Kira at that time; she was in one of the shuttle while he commandeered the recently repaired Strike Freedom. Apart from Strike Freedom, there were only three ZAKUs providing escort. The new government was keen to show that it was fully sincere upholding peace and since the convoy was humanitarian in nature it shouldn't be heavily armed. Although there had been rumors of a planned sabotage by certain quarters the mission went on smoothly without problems.

She entered the mission's log and read the data. The mission was rather unusual in that compared to the previous missions, it was of the lowest risk and very simple. A mobile suit belonging to team was deemed as cannot be repaired and the decision was made to decommission it secretly to ensure that technologies contained inside remained confidential.

But the title of the mission was very suspicious along with the description.

First and foremost, why the mission was given the name 'Red Riding Hood'? Lacus was very familiar with the fairy tale as her father used to read it to her when she was smile. The story about a naïve girl who was almost eaten by the wolf seemed rather cute then but at that time it evoked a different image with her, the image of a weak sacrificial sheep being offered to a very powerful and wicked wolf.

"I was hoping that perhaps if I can locate the previous members, maybe I can find out about what really happened to Fllay after I fought her at the end of second war," Kira continued.

The statement hit Lacus like a ton of brick; Kira hadn't realized the real meaning and significance of 'Red Riding Hood', the alternate story of a naïve girl who piloted a mobile suit to drew the attention of 'the big bad wolf' so that it wouldn't attack the convoy where the girl's lost love was involved in.

Her hands clenched his shirt as she finally couldn't hold her tears inside anymore.

* * *

Athrun put on a receiver before looking at the small screen on his chair's arm rest. "What is it, Dearka?"

Dearka, clad in his flight suit grinned Cheshire cat-like. "Come on, don't be so cold to me. Even the Alliance allowed private communication before mission."

"I wasn't being cold. So, what is it?"

"Would you like to place a little wager? Two hundred says they're really Durandal's lapdogs masquerading as former Alliance troops."

"Betting? I'm not so sure."

"Three hundred?"

"Dearka…"

"Lighten up, Athrun. When you lose, the money will go to DYMDAF, a good cause."

"DYMDAF?"

"Dearka's Young Maiden Dating Allowance Fund."

Even though he was wearing a receiver to engage in the conversation privately, the sound of snickering around Athrun told him that it wasn't private at all.

"Dearka…"

"Come on, just this once. I wouldn't ask you again."

"Fine. Whatever. I'll take your bet. Don't cry when you lose."

"Atta boy. I'm going to hold you to those words, Athrun. Dearka Elsmann, heading out."

A heavily customized green GOUF launched from the ship's stern side followed by two Windams right behind it and were soon joined by three ZAKUs launched from the starboard side; all of the launches were completed in less than a minute.

Athrun watched their departure, wondering whether it was fair to accept the bet since he was privy to the higher level information regarding the mission. The hostiles they were sent to sweep actually belonged to Alliance, or accurately remnants of LOGOS. According to intelligence reports, they were attempting to raid a nearby UNITY weapon store.

But he found that it was rather strange that the enemy picked a very bad timing to conduct the raid as the base' defense had been bolstered in wake of the attacks by pro-Durandal faction. Even without his team to intervene, it was very highly that the defenders would be able repulse the attack.

Despite that, he'll carry out the mission as was assigned to him.

That didn't mean he wouldn't enjoy accomplishing it. Being three hundred richer would allow him to pick up a rather nice gift for his wife.

Oblivious to his friend's gleeful thought, Dearka at that time was busy being unimpressed by his opponents. He did expect their pilots were inadequately trained since LOGOS didn't really believe in quality training but to do so using first-generation Windams which were already outdated at that time was rather insulting to his own piloting skill. At the very least they should have tried to overwhelm him with quantity. Not to take things likely but maybe leading a wing against them could be considered as bullying.

He pushed the joystick forward and his mobile suit dove, escaping from an enemy that was clever enough to try sneaking an attack on him rather than facing him head on. Without much of a problem, he ended up right behind his opponent. It didn't take much effort to disarm the mobile suit and render it immobile.

"I'll take this guy back for debriefing. The rest is up to you people." Dearka told his team as he caught hold of his prey and retreated back to Puma. Although his team consisted of highly trained pilots, it would do a lot of good for them to get real battlefield experience as they were freshly drafted to serve UNITY instead of being selected from a pool of war veterans. The policy of preferring new trainees was crucial to minimize split loyalties in case of conflicts. However, there were few vetted ex-soldiers such as he and Athrun to provide them with guidance.

"Don't get shot," he reminded them, "it will be a hassle to write the report."

He never had to worry. The ensuing battle didn't last long as his subordinates made a short work of the LOGOS attackers. The only resemblance of a crisis took place when one of the enemy Windams launched two anti-ship missiles at Puma. In response, the ship fired its own hunter missiles that quickly seek out and destroy the missiles as well as the mobile suit that launched them.

With the captured pilot fully interrogated, it was revealed that the attackers were indeed LOGOS. Asked the reason why they launched an attack on UNITY's base at that time when they left it alone earlier, the prisoner explained that they had received information that some of the base defense would be relocated to hotspots around the globe.

Three hundred richer with an annoyed Dearka beside him, Athrun thought about the information gleaned from the man. It seemed to him that the informant purposely gave wrong information to the attackers, making it the second time in the current month. At the same time, Sleipneir, UNITY's own source was very accurate regarding the upcoming attacks that it was joked that UNITY employed fortune tellers to reveal where the next conflict would be.

Athrun was a bit suspicious about the informant but he found it rather hard to discount the information given. If it wasn't for Sleipneir, there was no telling how many lives that would have been lost to the attacks and he believes that the higher ups felt the same since the frequency of attacks had increased silently.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. What if Sleipneir was somehow connected with the attacks? That would have explained why it had access to such accurate information. In fact, it wasn't totally impossible that Sleipneir was the one who instigated the attacks and then exposed them to UNITY. If so, what's the reason for doing so and what was the motive? Athrun decided that the matter worth further investigation.

"You're going give me the chance to win my money back?" Dearka asked, interrupting Athrun's train of thoughts.

"No. I told you that betting is bad. Besides, you promise not to ask me again."

"But Athrun, I wouldn't have any money."

"Don't worry, the ship's food is free so you wouldn't die of starvation."

"Aw, come on."

"No. The money's going to AGWA, Athrun's Gift to Wife Account, so you can forget it. Maybe next time you wouldn't be so eager to bet your salary."

Dearka sulked, hunching visibly.

Athrun grinned at his friend as the loss would serve to teach him not to gamble. His original thought totally forgotten, he began thinking about gifts he should buy for Lunamaria, courtesy of his friend's money.

* * *

"Something weighing heavily on your mind?" Murdoch asked as he leaned over the rail.

"No," Shinn said defensively. "Why do you think that I can't handle my own affairs?"

"Well, maybe it's because you're asking me to go fishing with you even though we're on the goddamned carrier when I had to pull your ear to force you to follow me on my fishing trip when we're on land?" the older man remarked. "And while the ship is moving, nevertheless?"

Sighing, the Skyknight's pilot admitted to himself that there was no escaping the old man's notice. "I'm confused."

"I see."

"What? No barbed comment?"

"I've made fun of you being clueless so many times that it has stopped being funny."

"Okay… It's this problem a friend of mine has."

"Go on."

"He doesn't know whether the feeling that he has over a girl is a real one or not."

"Why don't you tell me about the details?"

Shinn began telling Murdoch about the man. The man, he said, felt some sort of attraction to a rather tomboyish girl who despite her tough appearance was quite soft hearted.

"Wait… Didn't we had similar conversation few weeks ago?" Murdoch interrupted.

"That's about me and this one is about my friend."

"Whatever. Do continue."

First and foremost, Shinn continued, the man wasn't really sure whether such feeling could be called love or affection or even a crush. Despite that, the man noticed that he like the girl. To add to the problem was the fact that the girl's brother was involved in something shady. Even though the man still found it hard to believe what he had discovered, he felt conflicted to tell the girl.

Even though the man would like to take it slow and explore their relationship bit by bit, both of them were living in an uncertain time where they faced numerous risks on day-to-day basis. Hence, he wasn't sure which approach to take whether to bide for his time or just go all out, guns blazing and sweep her off her feet.

"So what's your opinion?" Shinn finished with a question as the man beside him took a long pull from the canteen.

"I think that he's an idiot."

"Hey!"

"Why do you take it personally? I was referring to your friend"

"Oh, a friend's prerogative."

"You see, most of the time, the attraction you feel toward another person is just plain lust. The difference between lust and love? The first one's centered on 'me-me-me' whereas the second one on 'us-us-us' or in some circumstances, 'him-him-him' or 'her-her-her',"

"him-him-him' or 'her-her-her'?"

The older man looked away to mutter about how unlucky he was to be explaining concepts to a slow person, "You'll get it later. Back to my explanation. The best way to really know is for the man to be with the girl more often to learn about each other. There's no rushing love no matter what time they're living in."

"How about the girl brother?"

"About her brother?" Murdoch had a faraway look on his face. "To be honest, Shinn, Kira is never that kind of person."

"I know… But I really saw what I saw and the face of the enemy mobile's suit was his."

"I'm not saying that you're a big liar. I believe you. What I'm saying is that there's something going on that we don't know about."

"What should I do?"

"I thought all this while we're talking about your friend?"

"You already got me there so I wouldn't bother."

"To answer your question, nothing."

"Do nothing?"

Murdoch nodded. "Even with the knowledge, what can you do? She would be hard pressed to believe you especially since she attended his funeral back then. And in the very low probability that she does believe you, how will that knowledge help her? In fact, it will make matters worse."

Shinn had to admit that the man's words were with merit. "But simply let it be?"

"Sometimes, life's problems only answer lies in time, Shinn. The time will come when you'll have to face the problem face on and when that time comes, just do whatever you think is right."

But in the end, even though the conversation they had calmed Shinn a bit, the single question that he had remain unanswered. He didn't have the time to really dwell on it as he and Cagalli had to return to the mainland; Cagalli had to attend a very important diplomatic mission and he had to send Skyknight for service. He was quite lucky that Erica was in her normal mood despite finding out about Skyknight having outperformed by the enemy's mobile suit; he was certain that she would strung his hide across the mobile armour.

That didn't mean he was off the hook as Erica gave him a lot of work to do to compensate for the defeat.

Even though he was busy, Shinn and his former girlfriend did meet up for some coffee and was teased by her that he was already two-timing Cagalli even though he had yet to win the representative's heart. He apologized for their relationship not working out but Ryanna waved it off, telling him that worse things could happen.

And on top of that, he still visited the monument almost every morning and on one of the mornings he discovered that a woman was already standing in front of it silently. Wondering why women always like to go the monument early in the morning when there was nobody else around, he approached her, making sure that she noticed his presence before speaking out. "You know, it's probably safer to visit in the afternoon when there are a lot of people around."

"To me, it's more dangerous that way," the woman answered. "Besides, by coming here early, I can see the sunrise from the spot over there," she said while pointing to a small marker stone.

Shinn knew that marker stone as it was the first time he met Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne at that spot. Both of them slowly walked to the spot as if agreeing to watch the sunrise together. At the place, Shinn noticed that the flowers Kira had planted at that spot had withered and died. "Even though we keep planting and planting the flowers, the wave will keep blowing them away," he said softly.

But we will keep doing it despite the impossible circumstance. It's because we have 'hope' that we will keep struggling and struggling, even though at times it seem pointless, even though continuing it is simply foolish." the woman commented.

He turned to look at her. The dawning light given by the appearance of the sun projected an ethereal look on the already beautiful lady; her autumn red hair seemed blazing, denoting the quiet determination hidden behind her calm appearance.

The woman then turned toward him and smiled. "You're different in person, Shinn Asuka. I expected a gloomier person but maybe the old wisdom 'don't judge a book by its cover' really holds water."

Suspicious, he took a step back while taking a defensive stance. "Who are you?"

She smiled again, this time with a hint of sadness. "A fool, I guess," she answered while walking away. "See you later."

* * *

The single transport shuttle slowly travelled along the debris belt, its pilot being mindful of all the risks but not really concerned about it. Sure enough, there were some brigands and pirates even in space but due to the nature of the environment they would most likely prowl on busier places. And that was why to Lacus, the current path she was using could be counted as the safest because it was rarely used due to the hazards from the space garbage; only armored ships or mobile suits equipped with Phase Shift armor could operate there efficiently along with her transport which was specially protected from such dangers.

At the same time another convoy would be making its way toward the same place she was travelling to. Heavily armed, the official convoy was said to be carrying her and thus would be a prime target for the pro-Durandal faction to attack. Without having to worry about her safety, the guards could thus react to the threats if such situation arose.

The computer beeped a warning tone as a single triangle appeared on the edge of radar. Then more and more triangles began appearing.

Lacus loathed to admit it, but their presence confirmed her suspicions that there was a high level spy in the rank of UNITY. Due to the confidential level of her where about at that time, she was sure that the spy was willing to be exposed if the exposure meant that she could be assassinated.

The spy had made a very big mistake as not only he would be flushed out, his move also had allowed Lacus to spring another trap. Another mobile suit icon appeared and began moving toward one of the present mobile suits. One by one, the blips on her radar began to disappear until only the newcomer remained.

The newcomer approached her plane but Lacus wasn't worried as everything was proceeding as she had planned. She flipped open the communication channel. "Thank you for saving me, 'Kira'," she said, smiling at the pilot of the black mobile suit that had pulled over beside the plane.

"**I didn't think that you're willing to play such a dangerous game, Chairman Clyne," Kira **replied, frowning. **"You didn't realize the danger that you were in."**

"Actually," Lacus began coyly, "I'm very much aware about it. In fact, I have predicted that you will appear to save me."

"**What are you saying?" **

"The leak about me being here, it's all being planned by me to expose the mole inside UNITY because I'm very sure that your faction couldn't let up the chance to kill me." She smiled. "And I'm totally certain that you will betray your masters in order to ensure that it wouldn't happen."

"**In other words… you forced me to betray The Destineds."**

"Yes," Lacus answered apologetically. "I know that you will save me but I'm not sure why. Would you care explain to me?"

"**Maybe it's because love is eternal insanity," Kira **replied.

Eyes softening at the answer, the former songstress continued. "You must realize the hopeless situation you're in right now. The reason that you're here right now simply means that I've already figured everything about you except the exact reason why you're doing the whole manipulation in the first place."

"**Manipulation… a rather judgmental word, isn't it? I'm just guiding everyone towards the right future."**

"IT'S NOT GUIDING WHEN YOU FORCE EVERYONE AGAINST THEIR WILL!" Lacus suddenly shouted, angered by the words.

"**Oh, how talkative are you." **Dammerungfee pointed its weapon at her shuttle. **"Are you sure that's the tone you should use against someone who can easily end you life?"**

"Go ahead and do it if you want to. I know that you wouldn't do it no matter what because whatever you're planning, you need to use me as well. Unlike other pawns, you can't discard me yet."

Even though he was dared to shoot her, he didn't and instead stored the weapon back.

"**As I expected of you; you're the only one who saw through my plan."**

"It's not something to be proud of especially I didn't realize about your double dealing until recently." Even though the clues were rather obvious, Lacus only managed to infer that **Kira **was Sleipneir after The Destineds had attacked the base. The earlier information leaks about the faction's movements were to establish Sleipneir's credibility as a trustworthy source until to the point that **Kira **could use it to trap UNGARD. Even from the very beginning Lacus was quite reluctant to rely on the information given by Sleipneir but the increased success as well as importance of the information being supplied caused UNITY military to prize it which proved to be a mistake in the end.

However, she had no real tangible evidence to prove that Sleipneir was **Kira **and until she could prove it, other commanders would continue to rely on its information. "Please, just surrender yourself."

"**Why should I do that?"**

"Because whatever you're planning, it wouldn't work, I assure you. To plan for such a major thing would require massive planning but even with that, there are many variables that would affect the final outcome and that's why it a folly in the first place. War is not just a massive chessboard."

"**Massive chessboard?" Kira **was silent for a while before he began to laugh uncontrollably. **"I see. You're thinking that way. Then, unfortunately for you, you haven't fully read my moves. As you say, it is truly impossible to control the chessboard. Then again, I'm not aiming for its control. What I'm aiming for is only one piece and right now it's only a few steps left before victory is mine. And you, Lacus Clyne had made two mistakes. First, you assumed that my objective is very broad, which is not the case. Second, you didn't use your ace in hand after you find out about me." Kira **smiled. **"Now, it is truly my victory."**

Lacus didn't like what she was hearing but it was she had anticipated since it was rather unlikely **Kira **would simply capitulate on her request. "Why do you claim that it's your victory?"

**Kira **smiled. **"Simple. You already know much about everything. However, rather than use them to your advantage, you're here, pleading with me in person to stop. That means even with the knowledge, you couldn't come up with methods to defeat my plan and forcing me to betray The Destineds is the only thing that you can think of. However, you simply assumed that by doing that, I'll be isolated and thus open to the idea to surrender. A good plan, I have to admit but maybe it would have been better for you to bring Kira Yamato along in the first place. He could have stopped me… but as I said earlier, you had blundered on your final gambit."**

"No, I still the last card to play."

Then the shuttle suddenly exploded, taking **Kira **by surprise. He had expected Lacus to break down and begged him or even retreat from the place to try again but to commit suicide?

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost missed the anti-ship blade appearing amidst the receding explosion aimed at his mobile suit's head. Deftly, he moved away. **"Destiny? Is this the so-called last card?" **he asked as he appraised the emerging mobile suit. **"I've to say, it's a bit nostalgic to see the mobile suit that was to suppose to spearhead Durandal's push for peace."**

Even though she had second thoughts in carrying out her plan in the first place, remembering about the mission 'Red Riding Hood' had given Lacus all the courage that she needed. Maybe she had become naïve as well. "It was unfortunate that the man had a twisted sense of peace but nevertheless I'm going to take you down with his creation."

"**Ironic doesn't it?"**

Both of them exchanged blows; anti-ship sword against anti ship sword, beam rifle against beam rifle, beam cannon against beam cannon. Even though Destiny was originally a 5.5 generation mobile suit, two generation behind her opponent was using, Lacus had overseen a major upgrade performed on it, improving it to the extent that it was able to keep up with the fight, further augmented with her SEED enhanced piloting skill.

"**Are you sure you're fine with this, Lacus? Risking your life in order to stop me?" Kira **asked as Dammerungsfee swerved sideway evade Destiny's Arondight. It then used the movement to kick the mobile suit away.

"Yes and I'll do it no matter what," Lacus said as she renewed her offensive.

They kept on exchanging attacks and counterattacks until Dammerungsfee suddenly backed away. **"Looks like I've played with you long enough; he'll be here soon."**

"He'll be here?" his opponent asked before comprehending what he meant. "Are you saying…"

"**Yes, I was stalling for time until your lover arrives."**

"Don't underestimate me!" Lacus exclaimed as her grip on the joystick tightened. Destiny's Wing of Light system flared to life and it began to crisscross around the battlefield before attempting to attack Dammerungsfee's flight system with its palm cannon. She must make the attack successful or else the situation could only deteriorate once the real Kira Yamato arrives.

"**Please," Kira **scoffed as his mobile suit caught the hand and redirected it away. **"You're the one overestimating yourself. Even though the mobile suit is capable enough, with someone as inexperienced as you piloting it, it ceased to be a threat in the first place. In fact, you were so busy trying to defeat me that you didn't notice where we are right now."**

Reluctantly, Lacus checked her coordinates and shocked to discover that the two of them were approaching the fringe of Earth's gravity field. "How?"

"**I banked on Destiny being able to chase me and used the fact to slowly lure you here. And now, with him in the radar range, it's time for you to make your exit."**

Despite what **Kira **had said, Lacus tried a last ditch effort to attack. It was in vain as he quickly proved his words by slashing both Destiny's arms and then crippling its legs. With most of its weapons inoperable save for its CIWS, Destiny just floated there rather harmlessly. **"Oh, by the way, those grunts just now, they were killed by Kira Yamato. I had arrived too late to stop him and in the end I had to retreat." **

Lacus couldn't believe what she was hearing. It looked like her opponent had anticipated what she was planning and countered by getting Kira involved in the battle. How could she make such a big mistake.

"**Bye bye, Lacus," Kira** said as Dammerungfee kicked its defeated opponent toward Earth. Not content with that, however, he attacked it with linear cannons again and again. Even though Destiny's Phase Shift armor protected it from total destruction, the explosion caused it gain more and more speed until momentum overwhelmed its ability to escape the gravitational pull. **"Happy landing."**

Before Lacus lost radio contact as the limbless Destiny plunged into Earth, the last thing she heard was Kira's voice shouting out to her.

**Kira **looked at her crashing mobile suit before turning toward his new opponent. **"Lacus, you really should have brought him along. But since you didn't, he'll end up taking that path, just as I planned. Even though I don't expect that you'll forgive me, I hope you will realize that this is the only way to go."**

Dammerungsfee turned to face the newcomer.

"**For the creation of a new world, a world where you will be destined to play a major part."**

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (21 September 2009)**

1. I've managed to finish 2 chapters this month. Unless there's some sort of a problem, finishing it at the end of the year looks to be an achievable goal.


	16. Fallen Angel

Guardian disengaged from the booster pack it used to arrive at the scene. While it helped the mobile suit to achieve a high velocity, it wouldn't really help in a mobile suit combat where better maneuverability at the expense of slight acceleration was preferred. Inside the cockpit, Kira looked at the crashing Destiny and then at Dammerungsfee. "What did you do to her?" he said, seething with quiet anger.

"**We have a little talk and then I sent her on her way."**

Although he was quite incensed by the cavalier reply, Kira was torn between going after Destiny and fighting against Dammerungsfee. In the end, saving Lacus took priority and he was about to give chase when Dammerungsfee blocked him.

"**Where do you think you're going?"**

"Get out of the way!"

The black mobile suit remained in its position and brought out its sword. **"Only if you can make me."**

Both of them were locked in an impasse. If Kira had to chase after Lacus, it would have to be immediately. While the Phase Shift armor would protect Guardian from intense heat due to reentry at a high speed, the protection didn't extend to the ELEANA drones. Hence, the reentry must be done slowly so that the friction heat wouldn't be too great. He could detach them but Dammerungsfee would attack them and Kira had no illusion that his enemy would use the knowledge of their being near to the edge of the gravity field to his advantage.

"**It looks like you end up having to fight me again," Kira **commented, as if knowing what he was thinking

"How dare you…" Kira said while Guardian activated both beam sabers.

"_Let us fight as well," _ELEANA told him.

There was no reply from him but as the system understood the silent gesture as denial to its request and didn't launch as result. Kira wanted to fight his enemy alone.

Both mobile suits floated slowly drifted toward each, searching and seeking out each other's weaknesses. Then, a space junk passed right in front of them slowly and it was then they decided to make the move. The two mobile suits engaged their boosters to maximum and accelerated toward each other with weapons poised to strike. Kira tried to block Dammerungfree's sword with its right beam saber and then stab with the left one but when the two edges met, he instantly knew that he had to block with both sabers or risk being overpowered before he could counterattack. Even though it was thrown back and his enemy used that advantage to keep attacking and attacking.

It became apparent to Kira that his enemy was trying to prevent him from making any strategy was doomed to fail as Guardian changed color to gunmetal black and quickly escaped from the next attack.

"**Hmm, it looks like you reconfigured Guardian to maximize maneuverability. However, by doing that, ELEANA wouldn't be able to help you." **

He knew that already. However, rather than being totally useless, the inert ELEANA units helped in maneuver with their respective boosters and vernier engines which helped him to sidestep Dammerungsfee's next attack. However, because both of them were quite close, he could swing the beam sabers effectively and had to let his enemy escape.

"What are you hoping to achieve by your scheming, impostor?"

"**We already have this conversation before so I wouldn't bother. The world as in its current state would be destroyed which is why it is my responsibility to make it right."**

"By killing everyone who oppose you?"

"**The world only need select few for tomorrow, Kira Yamato, the select few who will lead the rest of humanity."**

"How could you say such a thing?" Kira demanded as Guardian and Dammerungsfee engaged on long range attacks using their respective beam weapons.

"**Because I don't care for what other people think about my action. Even if the whole world hates me, it wouldn't change the fact that I will succeed."**

"You wouldn't, and I will see to that!"

"**Making such promise even you can't even keep your old ones?" Kira **sneered. **"Can you even stop my plan of revenge for her?"**

"Plan of revenge…"

"**You know, here's what I think: since Fllay Allster had committed grievous sins against Kira Yamato and her current existence is a bane for the world, maybe she wouldn't really mind it if he wanted to kill her. In fact, he will be doing humanity a great service in getting of scum like her. So, my plan is to get her killed, hopefully with your help."**

Upon hearing those words, Kira felt his heart skipped a beat as his vision was splashed red.

"**So, what do you think? Would you help me?"**

Then, the heartbeats became faster and faster, louder and louder while his consciousness was being overwhelmed with a single thought: kill his enemy. Guardian sped toward Dammerungsfee and slashed downward with both beam sabers. The attack was met with the anti-ship sword and the beam sabers flew out of its hands. However, that was on purpose as Guardian already reached for its beam rifle, intending to use it at such a short range. Dammerungsfee quickly stopped the move by kicking the right arm and Guardian responded by using the momentum to execute an axe kick that crashed itself against its adversary's head.

Not to be outdone, Dammerungsfee slashed diagonally to force Guardian to move away.

"**So, you're capable of such hate. Is this the person who tries to understand other people?" Kira **asked, his red eyes shining dangerously.

"I can't forgive you… Your existence is the only thing that I wouldn't tolerate…" Kira rasped.

"**What a coincidence. I'm having the same thoughts right now."**

"Enough!"

Guardian sped toward Dammerungsfee with its twin beam sabers raised, ready to strike. The black mobile suit slashed diagonally again but Kira had anticipated it and stopped his mobile suit just a mere inch from the sword's arc and waited until his enemy's mobile suit moved along with the momentum before striking. Although caught by surprise, Dammerungfee pilot continued rotating its body and used the resulting motion to perform a left kick aimed at Guardian's two hands. It was a rather sloppy move; although it managed to knock away Guardian's beam sabers, it lost its left leg in the process. Before Kira could attack again, Dammerungsfee attacked Guardian's head with its CIWS to momentarily blind it and used the chance to escape.

"**What a terrifying capability you showed just now, Kira Yamato. You're really trying to kill me, aren't you?"**

"I have to stop you whatever the cost."

"**You made a big mistake, because…"**

Kira nearly bit his tongue when his body was racked with indescribable pain.

"**Ah, your mobile suit stopped moving. As a Coordinator with highly evolved senses, the side effect of activating it for the first time must have been overwhelming. Even though I have to commend you for awaking it just by your own free will, are you sure that this is what you want? Power without a shred of restraint? The will that defies everything else?"**

"_Kira, are you all right?" _ELEANA asked him.

Kira couldn't answer because his consciousness tethered on a brink of collapse.

"_It looks like I have to take over."_

The various compartments on the detached booster pack popped open, revealing the active armor penetrator missiles inside them. Then, all of them streamed out, searching for Dammerungsfee, forcing it to deal with them. At the same time, a command appeared on the Guardian's main cockpit screen but Kira couldn't read it due to his condition. On another screen a diagram of a human body appeared with most of it colored red. Then, more and more commands began appearing on the main screen while the human body diagram was replaced with another showing ELEANA main computer and remote units changing their status from red to yellow before stopping at green. On the outside, Guardian's color changed to its original state.

"_Switching on Guardian's autopilot system and inputting the command to return home with maximum velocity. Initiating full autonomy mode and disengaging from main mobile suit."_

The module containing ELEANA's main unit as well its drones slowly left the mobile suit.

"_Kira, even though I a simulated image and persona of the person you are seeking and even though I have for alongside you for a short time, it is a…" _ELEANA stopped, _"a purposeful existence for me. For that I'm truly sorry about what I'm going to do."_

Even though he was still in pain, Kira began noticing what was happening. "ELEANA, what are yo…" His words only trailed into a forced slumber due to the reduced oxygen supply fed to him. Guardian engaged its autopilot and boosted away.

"_It is time we settle this," _ELEANA said as Dammerungsfee destroyed the remaining missiles after it.

"**Do you realize what you're doing?"**

"Yes."

"**A foolish move. You only postponed the inevitable. Fllay Alster will be killed."**

"_Perhaps, but I am increasing the percentage of your plan's failure, 'master'. Besides, since Kira's brainwave surge just now had damaged the psycho-communication sub-module, now I am able to operate independently to stop you without any adverse effect on him."_

"**You forget that the statement also apply to me. I can finally destroy you without risking any backlash."**

"_The inverse effect also applies. I know that this is what you want to happen. I am but a reflection of shackle that prevented you from getting what you want; the bane for your plan."_

"**True. Besides, your presence created a mental bridging between the two of us, something that is unneeded."**

"_Is that so? Why are you so quick to reject the chance of communicating? Are not humans creatures of communication, as observed by my original creators, in order to understand?"_

"**Your understanding of such concept is impressive but limited. Communication is just means to an end, never the end itself, not it is confined to a single dimension that you can understand."**

ELEANA launched all of its drones. _"I want to stay beside Kira to learn more about him and other people. I am sorry but calculations show that you are a threat and henceforth have to be terminated even if the chance of me succeeding is quite small. Perhaps this is what referred to as the will to live and this is the path I am seeking to fulfill my existence."_

Dammerungsfee slowly raised its anti ship sword in front of it. **"I see. Then before I get rid of you, at the very least, I'll show you the path that I'm willing to take to achieve my objective, the path of Ashura."**

Few minutes later, onboard Guardian, the diagram of one of the drones faded out. One by one, the diagrams disappeared until all of them were swallowed by nothingness.

**

* * *

**

Terrence browsed through the massive data dump, trying not to mourn over the loss of his greatest work, even though parts of the system wasn't built by him or any other human. When he found out about what happened to ELEANA, he nearly went ballistic. He went to the recovery room and waited until Kira woke up from his forced slumber before launching into a tirade on how much of a fool the Guardian's pilot was for letting things turn up the way they were. After all, the loss of ELEANA, the closest thing they have to a clone of Fllay would surely damper Kira's own efforts in locating the woman.

He gawked when Kira innocently asked about who or what ELEANA was.

Even though he was quite close to losing it, Terrence could still and think rationally. He decided to postpone breaking Kira's nose and asked the man, in a deliberately slow and clear manner, about what really happened to ELEANA. He watched all parts of Kira of any kind of reactions contrary to what the answer would be.

Kira answered that he didn't know what Terrence was talking about and his body language indicated that he was telling the truth; there was not a single clue that showed otherwise. While he did recall working with remote drones and knew about their ability to move autonomously, it seemed as if his memory of ELEANA simply evaporated into nothingness. Terrence postulated that Kira's memory loss was due to his subconscious repressing of memories linked to ELEANA because the man felt immense guilt over what happened. Whether his guess was true or not, he couldn't take his frustration out on the man.

So, to distract himself, Terrence went over the data dump yielded by Guardian's black box. Despite ELEANA having been operational for few months, it was the first time he really did that thoroughly since the system would encrypt the most important aspects of it: the logic rules it learned. Even if he tried to think positively, the mobile suit designer felt that the data dump wouldn't totally yield all coveted information but judging from the situation it was at least something to work on.

It felt as if the unencrypted data dump was ELEANA's final will.

After hours and hours of looking at zeros and ones that would have caused almost everyone else to admit themselves to a mental ward, Terrence had found something very interesting. When designing ELEANA, he had used a 'Phoebe' semi-conductor crystal inside it, mistaking it for a highly advance computer. While that was true to a certain degree, the 'Phoebe' was actually a communication processor. He postulated that the thing's intended use was to allow easier communication between its creators and other intelligent beings encountered.

Furthermore the data dump revealed that, rather shockingly, that the processor contained organic and inorganic neural networks functioning in tandem; it didn't take much to guess whose part of brain was used to form the organic part seeing that ELEANA's likeness to Fllay. After all, the chip was acquired from the LOGOS research facility that had revived the woman and then trained her for anti-Coordinator warfare. Apparently the LOGOS scientists at the facility had figured out the chip's capabilities and were conducting experiments on it when the anti-Alliance group Terrence joined raided the place.

Interestingly enough, the system also maintained constant connection with something or someone without unspecified communication method and had been using inputs gained from the communication to grow its neural networks.

In short, not only ELEANA was learning from what he and Kira had been teaching, it also learned from someone else.

A crazy idea suddenly presented itself to him: what if the communication was with Fllay? After all, it was her brain that that was used inside the chip. If that was the case, then there was a possibility that ELEANA had the ability to detect where she was up to the point where its communication module was damaged by something unexplainable. Finding further information was simply impossible because it could only be yielded by an examination of the actual chip itself and ELEANA was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, 'dead'.

Terrence stopped to consider his finding.

ELEANA knew all along that Kira wanted to confirm whether Fllay was alive or not and her whereabouts. However, from Kira's actions, it was obvious that it didn't tell him about what it could do. The action didn't exactly go against logical thinking, since ELEANA wasn't required to answer a non-existent question and both he and Kira never asked it in the first place. However, that fact wasn't totally acceptable to him because even from the very beginning ELEANA displayed the capability to modify or in certain cases erase logical rules that defined it just like an intelligent person able to change his or her perception whenever required. That led him to a very sober conclusion.

There was a small but real possibility that ELEANA purposely hid the information from the two of them for a reason known only to it.

**

* * *

**

Reverend Malchio put a steaming hot mug of hot chocolate on the table in front of his guest before sitting himself. "Clara and Tony thought that Lacus Clyne is visiting them." He smiled. "Then again, you are really here Lacus."

Lacus gave a small smile and took a careful sip of the drink offered by the blind priest. "Is it okay for you to be telling a lie, Reverend?"

"God knows why I did it. Besides, I was telling the truth when I told the kids that you bear uncanny similarity to Lacus, wasn't I?"

She nodded. Disguised by wearing a red wig, she pretended to be the Reverend's friend who happened to be similar in appearance to Lacus. While she wanted to tell the children the truth, she can't because that would cause them a lot of questions such as why she and Kira didn't visit them anymore or any other questions that she couldn't answer. Besides, she didn't want to put unnecessary risks on them. Her sudden appearance in ORB would have caused assassins to scramble to kill her, endangering the children's life.

"How did you find about this place?"

"Cagalli told me that she relocated your orphanage"

"I see."

When Lacus crashed in international water near ORB's territory, she had to call in personal favor from Kisaka who covertly transported both Destiny and herself to the island. While the man wanted to immediately tell Cagalli regarding what happened, she pleaded with him to postpone doing so until the situation was right and then she would do it by herself. Knowing that Lacus had a very good reason for wanting to do so, he relented but told her that whatever happens, he was not to be implicated. Lacus would tell Cagalli that she landed in ORB by herself and without anybody else's knowledge.

So Lacus staying with Reverend Malchio would help lend credence to the cover story.

She could have approached Cagalli but not when it would be a tactically disadvantageous thing to do. Until she was quite certain how much had been compromised, she would have to act alone for a while.

There was a knock on the door before it was opened. "Morning, Reverend," the newcomer, a young man greeted the house owner.

"Morning," Reverend Malchio greeted back, looking at the general direction where he perceived the man was standing. "I see you have returned from your trip."

"Yeah. Higher ups decided to change the patrol schedule.

The older man nodded. He knew about the attack that led to ORB recalling all of its navy back to its territorial boundary but it wasn't his business so he shouldn't press for further information. Besides, should the enemy decide to attack ORB, he could always get the children to a nearby civilian bunker. Meanwhile, the woman in front of him had to really school her feature to control her expression. She had heard about original pilot of Destiny being in ORB but to meet him at the orphanage?

Shinn finally noticed her and gave her a long calculating look.

"It's not polite to stare at my guest, Shinn."

"Eh?" the young man put a hand behind his head. "Ah, sorry. I thought that you're the red head woman I found at the monument that day."

Lacus found it had become even harder to control her emotions at that statement. "I'm sorry," she said while standing up, her hands on the table. "You met someone like me at the monument? Can you describe it to me?" she said a bit too eagerly.

Malchio cleared his throat. "Sorry, but my friend here is a little bit eager t of find someone. Nida, this is Shinn. Shinn meet Nida."

Shinn offered a hand. "When I look at you closely, you remind me of Clyne."

"I heard that a lot," Lacus said while accepting his hand.

"Now then," the reverend continued, "Nida, why don't you tell him about the person you're searching for in detail?"

Lacus nodded and begin her practiced story about her younger sister who went missing two years ago, not failing to describe Fllay's appearance.

After she had finished her story, Shinn nodded. "From the way you described, I think maybe it's your sister. It was a short conversation but we talked about how humans are ignorant of the past history and too arrogant to learn from them. "

"Can you bring me to her?"

"Sorry, but that's the only time I saw her. I think that maybe she's running from something, since she mentioned about coming to the monument very early in the morning was safer than in the broad daylight."

Lacus sat down, not really bothering to hide her disappointment. "That's her all right."

"I'm sorry," Shinn offered again.

"It's okay. I'll just need to redouble my efforts."

"I wish you luck, then." The young man then turned toward the priest. "I owe them ice cream," he said before he went out.

Reverend Malchio watched him exit. "He told me that towards the end of the second war, he realized that he had become just like his family's murderers; even though he became a mobile suit pilot to stop the same thing from happening to other people, he ended up killing a lot of people. Even though he told me that spending some time with the children doesn't change his tarnished past, it was the very least he could do."

"But Father, what can we do to help someone who was doomed and doesn't want to be saved?" Lacus asked absently, her mind far away.

Reverend Malchio had no good answer to that question.

**

* * *

**

Hilbert watched by as a technician wheeled a cart of electronic equipments by him. The modification work on the ship was proceeding quite smoothly though the progress rate wasn't fast enough. The secret war was beginning to tip toward the warmongering UNITY government even though The Destineds had dealt a very large damage to ZAFT and Confederation. The Destineds had lost a significant portion of its mobile suit strength as well as the talented pilots that control them. As every the condition would worsen and worsen, he would have to decide the best action to take.

The first action was to go underground and wage a guerilla war against UNITY. However, he believed that while it could certainly inflict damage on the government, in the long run, it would be an obvious disadvantage. First and foremost, guerilla warfare was suited for forcing invaders to retreat from occupied land by lowering the population support locally as well as in the originating country. If it was LOGOS invading PLANTs, such tactic could be employed. However, the enemy it was facing, UNITY, was formed by ZAFT, Confederation as well as other countries in Earthsphere. Hence, there was no 'invader' and 'defender' concept that could be applied.

While it was quite weak at the moment and there were movements against it that could be used to The Destined's advantage, a guerilla war wouldn't defeat it since the objection wasn't total defeat. In fact, if used correctly, the attacks could be used as propaganda to shore support for the government. Also, while both sides could bide their time, UNITY would have clear advantage since it was a 'legitimate' organization that could marshal needed resources easily to maintain its fighting force. Although The Destineds had the clear technological advantage, sooner or later it would be surpassed. The Rimane Competition, although had been sabotaged greatly, illustrated such attempt by UNITY to bolster its strength.

Because of that even though The Destineds may win battles through guerilla tactic, in the long run it would lose the war.

Therefore, before UNITY gained enough power and while the world was still fragmented, Hilbert must lead his faction to victory via conventional warfare. A large and publicized defeat of UNITY would create doubt in people's mind about its ability to bring peace. Once the seed had been sown, it would be easier to persuade more and more people in PLANTs and subsequently on Earth to accept that Durandal's Destiny Plan was conceived for the benefit of humankind.

The journey to everlasting peace was fraught with many obstacles however. Despite successes his group enjoyed, it had lost a lot of able manpower. The recent attempt to take Lacus Clyne out of Earthsphere's political arena highlighted the price of such endeavor. He had sent veteran pilots to ensure the success of the mission but they were utterly destroyed by Kira Yamato. Even the Ultimate Coordinator's simulagent had barely escaped even though it had been piloting one of UNGARD's most advanced prototypes.

With its head damaged, as well as two limbs utterly destroyed, the black mobile suit would require some time to repair.

On the plus side though, The Destined had acquired one of Kira Yamato's drones that was damaged after piercing through Dammerungsfee's left shoulder. Already, its scientists were studying the weapon's design. Even though it was highly improbable to reconstruct the computer controlling it short of capturing Kira Yamato and his mobile suit, the study was nevertheless very fruitful since it yielded technological information regarding the drones' design. Already works have started on upgrading DRAGOONs being carried by The Destined's few prototypes.

It looked like the experiment to create artificial Kira Yamato was a right decision even though in the beginning it didn't look that way. Out of fifteen units created through the project, only three were stable enough; only one showed real potential to rival Kira Yamato. But with the inputs collected from various battles that it had fought in, it was possible to create few more units.

Hopefully, the Kira units, the upgraded DRAGOONs as well as other preparations would help in the upcoming battle with UNITY. The Destineds didn't need to plan to win the war immediately; all it needed was to win a decisive win and the real war would start from thereon.

* * *

Shinn sometimes wondered why a woman could be so unpredictable. With the military in high state of alert, most of the test flights were conducted in ORB. In one of such flights earlier that morning, he had accidentally damaged a very delicate yet important part when he reconfigured Skyknight from mobile armour to mobile suit mode at a high speed; the kind of part that was expensive as well as time consuming to repair. When the technicians found out about it, they solemnly started talking about collection for a funeral service dedicated to him.

He thought that they were trying to be funny.

But then Murdoch referred to him by his first name instead of 'brat' or 'boy' and then telling others how proud he was to know Shinn.

So, preparing for the inevitable, Shinn went to the office to report to Erica regarding his newest screw-up. He knocked twice before she let him in. Apparently the Skyknight creator was so busy gawking over a computer screen that she barely acknowledged his presence and told him to do whatever he came to do. So Shinn told her about the damage. When he finished telling about what had happened, he mentally steeled himself for whatever punishment she would deal out and thus was unprepared by a bored gaze.

Erica told him not to waste her time with such unimportant news before chasing him off with gestures normally reserved for an annoying mangy cat. As his 'punishment' for wasting her precious time, he was told to go on a leave for a week to dwell on his mistake as well as allow the repair work to be carried out.

A fully paid seven days leave.

What kind of punishment was that?

Predictably, the others didn't believe him but Shinn didn't care; he took what he could get and decided that perhaps spending some time in city wasn't that bad at all.

He was lucky that Erica was busy examining the recently transmitted blueprint of Terminal's Frontal Assault Launcher, Combat Operation Enforcer, or FALCON in short. A fifty-meter long mobile armour that could be reconfigured into a mobile weapon platform for a mobile suit, it was the successor of the METEOR units destroyed along with Eternal in an ambush in the Second War. For Terminal to be sending her the blueprints, it was tantamount to permission for her to use the design. Hence she had no time to be distracted by a mere faulty equipment problem. She could always delegate the task to other slaves, er, technicians to fix so that she could devote her entire time to figuring out the whole FALCON design and replicate it.

When she received the design, she couldn't believe her fortune. It was as if Lacus knew about her problems and personally took effort to help her. Yes, it was rather fortunate that Shinn like to complain about his problems to other people and that included Reverend Malchio and his 'guest' at the orphanage that it didn't take much of a work for Lacus to find out about the situation in ORB and thus execute her own covert plan.

UNITY's military leaders had considered asking Shinn had been considered to join its army due to his higher than average skill but UNGARD's or rather its head agency I9's security screening division staff merely threw his dossier into a nearby wastepaper basket as soon as she saw his name on it.

Some people simply weren't born to do such kind of work, political correctness be damned.

Thus, with a sudden increase of free time, Shinn found himself walking along the sidewalk in the town, hands in his pockets, as a black mobile suit flew overhead. Sometimes he wondered whether it was better to pilot mobile suits such as Strike Noir as it did seem easier to maintain despite its lack of sophistication.

"What are you doing here?" a female voice asked him.

Shinn turned around to see a woman wearing a head scarf looking at him. It didn't take much to notice the golden hair straying as well her golden eyes. "Princess," he greeted while performing a western bow.

"Don't call me that," Cagalli hissed, nervously looking around in case anyone noticed. To her relief, no one paid heed to them.

"Your wish is my command, your majesty." He was learning fast from his interaction with Murdoch although he was nowhere near to beat the old man. "To answer your earlier question, my prince, Erica had given me a week off to carry out some emergency repairs."

A sudden throbbing pain in his foot served him as a reminder not to antagonize her too much.

"And what are you doing here?" he asked back.

"Reminding myself what I'm working for," she said while gesturing around.

"Yeah, I understand…" He realized that she buried herself in her work for the sake of her country. While the self sacrifice was a noble thing to do, he could see that it was beginning to take its toll on her. The slightly dark bangs under her eyes while being a put off to certain people, was a sign that she was trying her best. He put a hand on her left cheek tenderly.

"What are you doing?" Cagalli whispered, not pulling his hand away.

Shinn pulled out a phone, scrolled through the phone book and made a call. "Hello. Asuka here. Yeah. Yeah. So you know. Hm… Hm… Oh, so you're aware of the situation as well… then I would like to ask for one day off… three?… Hmm… Okay, okay. My head on a platter. Well then, see you later," he said before terminating the call.

"What did you do?" she questioned him.

"Look at your phone," he said as her phone started to vibrate.

She read the incoming message and was shocked. "Kisaka is forcing me to take three days off from my work and has even got the doctor's recommendation as well? What is he thinking?"

"Probably about your health."

"I'm going to give him a lot of health to think about," she said, starting to stomp away when Shinn's hand on her shoulder prevented her from doing so.

"Sorry, I can't let you ruin your days off, not when my head is on the line."

"You mean that statement just now…"

He nodded. It was a lie of course. Kisaka threatened him to keep Cagalli safe, not ensure that she was well rested.

"I can't believe he said that!"

"Look, please think about it," Shinn said before he noticed an SP nearby them; Kisaka had them trailing her in the very beginning it seemed, "ORB needs your guidance and the only way you can keep giving it if you take care of your health. If you don't believe me, I can go to any random person, introduce you, tell him that you're working yourself to an early grave and then ask his opinion about what should you do. What do you think?"

"Er, that wouldn't be necessary."

"As you wish, my lady," Shinn said, bowing again. "So, our activities for today are…"

"Hey! Why is it you who is deciding what to do…"

"There!" Shinn said, grinning at her while his finger pointed to a Ferris wheel in the distance; its presence was a clear sign that there was an amusement park at that location.

"Okay." She wanted to go to amusement parks when she was small but due to her being her father's daughter as well as other factors, couldn't do so. So, when Shinn suggested going there, a small childish part of her immediately seized the chance.

Shinn took her hand and pulled her toward the place. "Let's go."

"_The best way to really know is for the man to be with the girl more often to learn about each other. There's no rushing love no matter what time they're living in,"_ _the man said to him with a scornful expression._

"Thanks, Murdoch."

"What did you say, Shinn?"

"You know, your clothing really suits you today."

"Thanks."

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (2 October 2009)**

1. Here you are, the current chapter.

2. When I started Soaring Above, I jokingly thought of getting both Shinn and Cagalli stranded somewhere, maybe on an island or in space as it seemed their previous relationships started similarly: Cagalli and Athrun stranded on an island while Shinn and Stellar trapped in a cave. But after thinking about the idea for a few seconds, I decided to throw the idea inside the creative recycle bin.

3. The path of Asura means the path of war and violence since Asura is a sub-deity . Graham Acker made such reference when fighting against one of the Gundam Trone in Gundam 00 but the mythology is quite prevalent in Japanese (as well as other Buddhist) societies.

4. At the very maximum, I am expecting five more chapters and at the very least, three.


	17. Warm, hot and boiling water

At first, he was silently cursing his friend Athrun for launching the ship's squadron of twelve mobile suits to deal with just three enemies; an obviously unfair fight. Not only that, the mobile suits that they were facing were slightly upgraded GINNs carrying self-contained beam rifles instead of the original projectile-based weapons, compared to the top-of-the-line mobile suits his team was using. It looked so unfair that it was an insult to his dignity.

"Fox Three," Dearka's wingmate announced as his Windam launched a pair of active radar guidance missiles at a GINN. "Fox Two," he announced a few seconds later as he launched another pair of missiles; this time they were infrared-guided. By alternating the launch of different guided missiles, it was hoped that the enemy would be fooled into thinking that the second missiles were radar-guided and would deploy active countermeasures against them.

Dearka, his wingmate and the other two pilots would never find out whether the enemy that they were facing had been tricked by tactic or not. The enemy pilot simply destroyed the missiles like they were nothing more than annoying flies and continued attacking the four of them.

Dearka was still silently cursing his friend Athrun, this time for sending his team to fight an _unfair _battle. With him barely keeping the GINN from chasing after the other three, it was a very uphill battle indeed. He wryly noted that it was as if fighting against Kira Yamato.

Three Kira Yamatos, a rather unfair fight indeed.

"Shamrock's hit," a female pilot from another squadron announced with a straight face as a GOUF in her team exploded. Although it was as if she wasn't affected by what happened, the slight stress in her voice was tantamount to her screaming over the airwave.

There were oddities such as Kira and Yzak but mobile suit pilots were expected to remain calm, or falling which to appear calm at all time; not to do so was unforgivable but then again Kira didn't become a pilot out of his own will and Yzak didn't give a damn about what other people were thinking anyway.

"Pull out and abort any attack," Dearka instructed her and the other team leader. "Everyone maintain your distance from the three of them and don't open fire except to prevent them from attacking you or others.

While attacking from distance would let the GINNs evade the attacks, the inverse also applied as well. By matching the skill of the GINN's pilots with numbers and technological superiority, the blonde leader had a simple battle plan, to run the enemy mobile suits power dry. As long as none of his pilots was a stupid prick that didn't know his or her own capability, Dearka would make it work. "Duck King, fire at Tango One. Wheeler, Tango Two. Bunny, Tango Three. Fullhouse and Potluck, cover us with ECMs." As he fired at the three GINNs, he continued, "The rest of you, stick to the plan and don't get someone else killed because you're stupid enough to follow orders."

"Roger!" everyone chorused.

"Puma, do we have the permission to use Cloud Reaper?" he asked the mothership's CIC operator.

The man looked elsewhere and talked to someone else before turning back to him. "The captain confirmed that you have the permission to request it at any time."

"Understood." He and Athrun had talked about its use before. While his friend was reluctant to let the enemy know the existence of such weapon to prevent countermeasures to be developed, he was more concerned with lives of those serving under him. In the end, they came to a compromise. He was allowed to call for its deployment and thus was responsible to reduce the chance of it happening.

Even though he wouldn't call for its use except in the most extreme cases, it was a bit comforting to know that there was a backup plan in place.

The plan in place, the battle continued, this time in his squadron's favor. Dearka had piloted GINNs before and use his knowledge of their capabilities to the maximum advantage. If possible, he wanted to capture at least one of them to know what kind pilot controlling them. As the attrition fight dragged on, he began to notice that one of the GINNs began to slow down. At first, he wondered whether it was a trap to goad his people to attack it but all of them followed his order to the letter. .Further near hits convinced him that something was wrong with it.

"Commander! We have an unidentified coming your way fast!" the CIC operator announced suddenly.

Before Dearka could say anything, precise beam shots tore through the three GINNs that his squadron was facing, utterly decimating them. He quickly turned toward the originating coordinates and saw a black mobile suit slowly storing its beam rifle. He glanced at the remains of the three GINNs and then back again at the newcomer. Slowly, understanding began filtering in his mind. The three GINNs that they were fighting had been sent as part of an experiment, probably involving their pilots since he couldn't see anything special regarding the mobile suits themselves. From what he had just seen, it was probable that the experiment was over and the single newcomer destroyed them.

"Puma. Request two Cloud Reapers aimed at Tango Four immediately."

"Two? But that's…"

"Just do it," Dearka interjected, looking at the lone threat warily.

Two slightly larger than normal missiles were launched from the mothership, their target was the black mobile suit.

"Come on… let's see what you will do…"

The projectiles were designed for atmospheric reentry and thus the warheads were protected with thermal resistant ceramic coating that would also allow them to withstand normal strength beam blasts. However to targets facing them, attacking the prominent warheads seemed an obvious thing to do which is why Dearka was surprised when the black mobile suit aimed the shots at the their main bodies, incapacitating them easily. Athrun's fear of countermeasures being developed against the missiles was unfounded.

A method already exists to disrupt them.

With its main objective achieved and threats neutralized, the mobile suit simply turned to leave the area. Dearka sighed as he knew what he was going to do next was stupid and useless. "All units retreat to the ship perimeter. No need to be stupid and heroic"

"How about you, skipper?" one of his pilots asked.

He didn't give a reply as his GOUF gave chase. He knew what he was doing was hypocritical but at the very least he wanted to try and defeat the black opponent without involving his squadron. He noticed that his prey didn't react to his approach but instead maintaining its current vector.

There was no way the pilot wouldn't have noticed his mobile suit on radar.

Yet, he continued on, preparing himself for a close range combat even though his specialty was mid-to-long range engagement; he had no illusion that his foe could avoid such attacks easily. But he must win. Just when his GOUF was not far away, he blinked.

He must have blinked because a moment before the black mobile suit was quite a distance away and a moment later it suddenly appeared in front of him.

As Dearka stared at its beam rifle's muzzle pointing at him precariously, he cursed his mind for coming up with the explanation on how his enemy managed to perform such 'magic' instead of thinking the way out of his current predicament.

He had heard about battle stories about a mobile suit broke into particle of lights and then reappear at another position from one place or another one that could changed its vector so fast that it was leaving after images; Dearka personally believed that those stories were more unbelievable than the abominable snowman or 'Nessie'. Sure enough, having served on a team that had a mobile suit equipped with Mirage Colloid and knowing seen schematics on Destiny's Wing of Lights, he knew that almost total stealth and optical illusions were achievable. However mobile suits turning into particle of lights or the changing its vector so fast simply went against the law of physics. Plus, there's no way of preventing the pilot being turned into a giant pancake with such an extreme g-force caused by such maneuvers.

In the case of the mobile suit he was pursuing, he was so transfixed in the chase that he didn't notice its steady drop of speed until it came to a stop. So, what seemed to be it 'teleporting' to in front of him was actually his reflex action of braking his GOUF to avoid collision with the static mobile suit.

Not only Dearka's reflex had been used against him, the pilot could also be commended for such a brazen tactic.

Yet, all those overanalyzing of situation wouldn't help the blonde pilot. His prey turned hunter was clearly mocking him with its inaction, as if daring him to make a move knowing full well that he would fail. _There's no one here that will able to prevent me from shooting you point blank._ An image of a boisterous and smiling girl entered his mind. "Mir…"

Then it all turned white.

* * *

"What can we learn from what happened?" Athrun asked at everyone inside the room with a stoic expression.

"You must always keep calm," someone offered.

"Good point. Also, no matter who you are, there's a fine line between heroics and stupidity. Don't let what happened to your commander happen to you. That is all," he said before saluting them and went out of the room. However, someone else quickly followed him.

"Oh, come on, Athrun, give me a break. You referred to me as if I'm already dead."

Athrun rolled his eyes. "If not the fact that it was aiming for the main camera instead of, say cockpit, you might as well be dead. That, and the fact that it left you alone after that even though it had plenty of time to skewer you and hang you out to dry."

"Well, thanks for bailing me out. I could have landed in the hot soup for this."

"You should, but we're short of experienced pilots as it is. Also, since you kept everyone else out of your silly attempt and technically 'the black mobile suit attacked you' even though you had yet to fire a single shot at it and your squadron is keeping mum about what happened, I have no choice. They're good people, you know, so don't let them down."

"I know."

"Just to let you know, you'll still be reprimanded. Repeat this stunt, however, you will be grounded and I'll have you scrub the toilets with a toothbrush."

"Women's?"

Athrun groaned.

* * *

Mwu looked at the document in his hand and then Lacus on the screen. "We already have the information on the experimental pilots. It seemed that they're conducting trial tests on upgraded pilots able to fight at a level higher than they're capable off, a bit similar to the Extendeds if I have to say so. You know, Lacus, I'm impressed. How do you managed to figure out what them even though all the the initial data we had was their fighting capability?"

Lacus shrugged. "I have a feeling," she said a bit untruthfully. "The confirmation came from Sleipneir?"

If Mwu noticed how she reacted to the question, he didn't show it. "Yes. However, there's a little bit of a delay in getting the information unlike the last time."

"Perhaps something can't be avoided."

"Perhaps," the man agreed. "Although I'm not going to ask you to tell me where you are or when you're returning, I hope you understand the longer you're missing, the more people will start to ask. You haven't appeared publicly for two weeks already and we're covering for that but eventually you will have to appear again."

"I understand. I appreciate everything that you've done."

"If that's the case then I trust that you'll provide foreword for my next thriller."

Lacus giggled. "I still think that Kuro Takato is supposed to be the real hero instead of Myo Acre. Plus, I don't think Carrey Dinar would enjoy finding out that she's in a love triangle with the hero and Maria Bernes."

"There's no pleasing everyone,"

"True. See you then."

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

"This seems a bit weird but Sleipneir left something strange. I reckon you could probably make out what it is."

"Tell me."

"He or it or whatever asked the question 'how?' Our crackers are balding themselves trying to figure out what it meant."

Lacus smiled sadly while shaking her head slowly. "It's okay. The question is for me after all. Is there any way for us to relay the answer back to Sleipneir?"

"Yes. But it would take some time since he wouldn't trust us to deal directly." Mwu rubbed his smooth chin. "May I hazard a guess? Since it is for you, Sleipneir is asking how come you're not appearing in the public"

"No. Sleipneir already knows about it." In fact, Sleipner or rather the fake Kira was the reason why Lacus stayed out of limelight. The question asked of another nature. "Tell Sleipneir, it because a woman has a higher pain threshold."

The former masked Phantom Pain commander frowned. "I don't get it."

"That's because you're not supposed to and trust me, the day you found out about it will be the day Sleipneir will cease to provide us information."

* * *

Sitting on a blanket spread on the sand, Lacus smiled as she looked at the orphans playing in the water. When she came to the newly relocated orphanage, she was told by Reverend Malchio that some of the kids had already moved out but evidently there were newcomers as well. Negotiations are being finalized but ORB government was quite keen for the good reverend to head its own welfare agency, recognizing the fact that his blindness wasn't a liability preventing him from carrying out humanitarian works. Lacus sometime wished that she had dedicated herself to welfare work instead of dabbling in the political arena.

As it is, Sleipneir's information or rather the fake Kira's information was shedding some light on what was the pro-Gilbert's faction or rather The Destineds was planning. The attack on Puma was only to test the stability of the artificial aces that the faction was creating. That was why the pilots used obsolete mobile suits; they were expendable in the trial. Although it looked like it didn't go the way the group wanted, Lacus had no doubt that the data gathered would help the faction to improve the stability more and more.

Of course, even without Sleipneir's information, with a little bit of time and analysis, she would have reached the same conclusion. The fake Kira was mocking her, telling that she would fail in stopping his plan even though he was helping her. She wanted to stop the plan but there was a part of her that was quite reluctant. Lacus could already see where it was leading and if it succeeded, she could end up together with the real Kira; the impersonator's plan, would cause the death of Fllay Alster, the contender, no, the one who was reigning inside Kira's heart at that moment. With the knowledge of what will happen, a real dilemma emerged which was whether sacrifice her conscience and be together with Kira or stop the plan and risk losing Kira.

Somehow she knew the answer but yet it was very hard for her to accept it.

She had already lost him. No, that wasn't entirely correct. He wasn't hers in the first place. She thought that he was enamored with her just as she was with him; it seemed that he believed the same thing as well. However, his actions betrayed his subconscious yearning of being with _her. _Even the protectiveness he displayed when escorting her shuttle to the edge of the atmosphere during the second war was influenced by his desire to not lose anyone else after losing the flame-haired woman_. _

"I didn't expect you to be here, Lacus," a female voice behind her interrupted the Pink Princess mussing.

She patted a spot next to her. "Have a seat first, Cagalli. We have some catching up to do."

Cagalli did as she was told. "When the jerk told me that there's someone like you at the orphanage, I had to prevent myself from rolling my eyes. I mean, how come he was dense enough not to recognize you? Geez, hasn't he heard about the sameness factor?"

"Jerk?"

The ORB representative pointed to a man that was walking toward the orphans.

"Oh, him." Then a thought occurred to Lacus. Despite Cagalli's wide vocabulary of colorful and overtly words, there were some words that have other meanings. For example, she had used the word 'jerk' to refer to Athrun whenever the man annoyed her. To have her using the word to refer to Shinn, it meant that the relationship between the two of them was a bit out of normal. "You're going out with him?"

"Um…" Cagalli answered self-consciously.

Lacus turned toward her friend to see that she was blushing. "When?"

"I'm not sure myself when but we're currently testing the water."

From her vantage position, Lacus could see a prank by the orphans cause Shinn to fall into the sea. "Cagalli, do you think it's true that love is eternal madness?" When she noticed that the person next to her was silent, she clarified her question. "I'm not talking about you and Asuka. Recently someone told me that love is eternal madness that can cause one to do things that are irrational and detrimental to one's self interest."

"I… maybe that person has a point… not that I'm referring to my situation of course."

"I see…"

"Anyway," Cagalli said, changing the topic, "You have yet to tell me why you are here in ORB."

Lacus nodded as her mind went through the rehearsed story that she had prepared; the story would be as close as possible to the real truth but with some information omitted such as Kira's current involvement with UNITY's intelligence agency.

"Few months ago, I found out that…"

* * *

Erica signaled a crane to lower the contraption it was carrying so that she could connect it to one on the platform. "Gently does it. We don't want to be spending another week building this."

Murdoch snorted and whispered to the technician next to him, "Somehow I really doubt her words seeing how she worked us to the ground and still have the energy to do her own work. It's like having a Duracell™ bunny as head of research here."

"I know. Kinda scary when I saw her with that look after the plan was transmitted."

The lowering operation was slow and tedious but in the end the equipment was successfully lowered and Erica moved in to secure it.

Murdoch rubbed his eyes. "I am seeing things. She is skipping around!"

"You and me both. But I have to say it is a relief that we have come far to finish Project GARUDA."

"Geo-orbital Assignment Robust Unilateral Deployable Armour. A bit fanciful for a big mobile armour."

"I can hear you from here!" Erica shouted from where her position as she tightened a bolt. "It is not just a big mobile armour. It is the most advanced mobile armour ORB have ever built."

"With all due _dis_respect, Erica, all we did was rebuilt Terminal's FALCON and then just rebadged it GARUDA. Besides, it is quite easy to achieve the target of building ORB's most advanced mobile armour when this is the first time we ever the so-called advanced mobile armour!"

Erica was quiet for a while but wasn't ready to admit defeat. "We've carried out a lot of modifications!"

"Sure, instead of one beam cannon in FALCON's design, we stick in two; replace a slot carrying two missiles with one that carries three missiles. Oh, not to forget, we also changed the color as well!"

The head honcho of Morgenroete's research department fell silent as she continued with her own work.

"Wow," Murdoch's friend quipped. "You managed to out-logic her."

"Well, it's been four years I've been working under her so I learned a lot."

Of course, Murdoch admitted silently to himself that the craft that they were building wasn't just a rehashed version of Terminal's FALCON. Only an idiot couldn't appreciate the fine engineering feat orchestrated by Erica. After all, she was the one who refit Archangel so that it could function as a submarine. However, every genius has his or her own weird kind of thinking. Murdoch couldn't still understand the real reason why Erica tore down some rooms in the legged ship just so that she could build a Japanese style bath along with its men and women partitioning; at that time he had called her an idiot for wasting precious space for something as trivial as that. Besides, since the ship's operational theatres included outer space, wasn't it rather pointless to build the bath if it couldn't be used in space?

Despite that she wanted a Japanese-style bath inside a battleship, she got what she wanted and Murdoch was quite accommodating since she didn't involve him in the implementation of her quack idea.

"Murdoch," Erica called out to him. "Please finish this up while I work on the OS."

The man turned toward his friend and grinned. "And after four years she accepted that I'm better at assembly and repairing even though she's the main designer and planner."

* * *

"_Zwiling Lanze! Attack him" Kira commanded and the remote drones launched from Guardians. In retaliation, Dammerungsfee launched its own DRAGOONS to intercept them. With the remote units engaging each other, the two mobile suits closed in to do battle with their melee weapon. _

_Dammerungsfee launched itself at Guardian, both of its hands holding Saitenwaffe blade for increase in power, ready slash the latter to oblivious. But the slash was redirected away by one of Guardian's beam sabers while the other one was raised in retaliatory attack that would have severed the black mobile suit's head. However, Dammerungfee spun on its axis and kicked Guardian, forcing the two apart. _

"_**It is look like the original is better after all." **_

_The two continued to dance around each other, trying to find openings on each other that would have lead to a swift conclusion to their fight. Even though he had the definite advantage in skill, Kira couldn't use it because his enemy was faster, compensating for the lack of skill. Also, his enemy wasn't showing any kind of pattern or style he normally associated with other opponents that he had fought. Athrun, Yzak, Shinn and even Creuset; all of them had one definitive fighting style whereby they would favor certain battle tactics._

_Kira realized with a start that his fake didn't really have a favored fighting style apart from the one bastardized from him; how could he had not noticed such an important information until then?_

_However, he wasn't given much time to think about it as his enemy renewed his attacks. __**"The world is already changing and the people who changed it is no longer needed, Kira."**_

"_Yet you're still here, trying to force the world to move in the direction you wanted."_

"_**I told you before; I'm guiding it to its path. I also told you that the world doesn't need her."**_

"_Damn you!" Kira cursed as Guardian performed a double slash only to be blocked by Dammerungsfee's Saitenwaffe. _

"_**It's useless."**_

_However, that was what he had planned. He retracted the two beam sabers, causing the black mobile suit to be off balance and lunged forward. Then Guardian kicked at the mobile suit's beam sword using the momentum to force it away from its owner. Then taking the advantage of the fact that his opponent was unarmed, he pressed home the attack, stabbing Dammerungfee with his beam saber. "Die!" _

_Then the world turned white._

_Instead of his mobile suit, Kira was the one holding the beam saber and instead of the black mobile suit that he was fighting, he had stabbed a redhead woman with a sword. _

"_No!" he denied as he pulled the sword away. Without anything to support her, she toppled to the ground as blood began seeping out of her wound. He threw away the bloodied sword, sat down and put her head on his lap. "I'm sorry."_

"_Kira…" the girl called out weakly. _

"_**Congratulations." **__The fake __**Kira**__ said while appearing in front of the two. __**"You have succeeded," Kira**__ said as he smirked. _

"_No! This is wrong! This is not supposed to happen!" _

"_**Why it wasn't supposed to happen? That bitch used and manipulate you! Isn't it natural that you hate and try to kill someone you really hate?"**_

"_But it was you, not me!"_

"_**What are you talking about?" Kira**__ asked as he began to fade out of view. __**"I am you."**_

"_NOO!!!" Kira shouted in despair._

"_Kira," the woman called out, exerting to put a hand on his face. "Shh… It's all right, Kira, all right." She cooed._

"_How can it be all right if I killed you?"_

_She gave a fleeting smile. "If it is you, Kira, I don't mind."_

"_Why? Why are you able to say such a thing and smile? Don't you want to live?"_

"_That's the thing… You told me that my feelings weren't real which was why you couldn't reciprocate it. But I find out… that I can't live without you and don't want to… That's why…"_

"_Wait…," Kira stopped as he tried to think of her name, not realizing that the hand that he was holding was already limp._

"_NOOO!!!!"_

Kira woke up, mouth opened in a silent scream. Upon realizing that it was just a dream, he put a hand on his face in order to calm himself. Dream or not, it felt horrifyingly real and he could still his blood curdling from it. However, there was one lingering question that was left unanswered.

When he asked Terrence about it the day after, the man seemed to hesitate before asking him a question. "Kira, humor me if you will, but why did you join UNGARD in the first place?"

After thinking about it, the young man gave his answer, "To make a difference while the world is moving toward reconciliation."

"Nothing else? No other reason apart from that?"

As hard as he could, Kira couldn't come up with another reason which was quite strange since instinctively he knew that there was another reason. A blurry image flashed in his mind where he kissed someone in his room back at Archangel in the second war… although the feeling and passion brought by that image was very intense, for the life of him, he couldn't identify the person that he was kissing.

Then it came to him.

"I join UNGARD to help make sure that Lacus' safety is ensured even if it means I have to protect her from the shadow," he added with false conviction.

Terrence shook his head a bit and gave weird look; a look that seemed sympathetic. "Since you put that way, then you don't need to worry about those dreams. They're probably figments of your imaginations."

* * *

Shinn leaned on the rail of the ship, looking at the horizon.

"I almost mistake you for a mature person there, kiddo," a gruff voice commented.

The Skyknight's pilot smiled. "Oh, it's you."

"Geez, it's not fun if you don't react to my taunts."

Shinn chuckled. "Sorry I couldn't make your day then. So, how can I help you apart from being the usual doormat?"

"Heh, you're finally learning to speak back. Good. Keep it up," Murdoch said as the older man took a spot next to him. "By the way, what did you do to our guest from Confederation?"

"Sven? What about him?"

"Whenever I see him, either he has a popsicle in his mouth or he's licking a cone ice cream or savoring a sundae."

Shinn knew exactly the exact moment the change occurred in Sven but decided that his involvement was better kept hidden. "Beats me."

"Just thought you may know something." Murdoch leaned on the railing. "So if you don't mind me asking, how is it going between you and the beauty? So, you're all dovey-dovey right now, I take it?"

"I wish."

"Why? She's not good enough for you?"

"No, the problem is she's too good for me."

"Of course, of course, that's pretty obvious," Murdoch said condescendingly.

"I'm not falling for your taunt, old man."

"Crap."

Shinn let out a long sigh. "I like her, that's a fact and strangely enough I can picture myself being beside her. There's something else looming, you know, as if threatening the whole thing."

Murdoch stared at the young man for a while before grinning. "Oh, I know what's causing it. The solution is simple, actually."

"Really? Tell me."

"You wouldn't like it."

"Please, tell me."

"You have to forgive yourself…," Murdoch paused a bit, "and when I said forgive yourself, it also involves forgiving her father."

"But…" Shinn stopped when the other man held up a hand.

"Think about it. I'm not taking sides here but right now her father is holding you back, but only because you put him in that position."

"But… it was he that…"

"True, but I would like to ask you: based on your viewpoint, he's responsible for many deaths as well, right?"

"Yes…" Shinn said testily.

"Good. But do all of their kin invest their time in hating him rather than live their own life."

"Yes!"

"Are you sure? Really, really sure about that? Is there any proof to your statement?"

The young man shrunk. "No."

Murdoch put a reassuring hand on him. "I know you're angry with that guy but you still have to live your life, kid. Look, life is never about fairness, just like a game of poker. Sometimes the hand you're dealt with isn't that great but you know what? It doesn't matter as much as what you do with it."

"Then, what should I do? If I forgive him like you said, it's like sullying my family's memory."

"That's bullshit and you know it. In fact, if I may say so, I think you're sullying their memory by thinking about that particular event only. If I'm you, I would rather remember of the good times I enjoyed with them and I believed that they want the same thing, the best for you as well."

Shinn gasped. He remembered Ryanna saying something earlier when they met. What she and Murdoch had said finally made sense to him. "Why can't I forgive myself only?" he asked as a feeble attempt to vindicate his current viewpoint.

"Forgiveness is just another word for letting go. Besides, you're currently dating his daughter, right? You can't have your cake and eat it. Something has to give; relationship is all about giving in for the person that you love. Look, your going out with her is somewhat unusual since she's basically the leader of the country but I can see that there's a chance of it working out but only if you're willing to give it a chance."

"But her father…"

"I'm in no position to judge whether what he did is right or wrong," Murdoch said, cutting him off, "but perhaps he made that decision at that time thinking that it was the right thing to do. That's the risk a leader has to face every day, making decision that would cost the people that he lead. Stick around Cagalli and you'll see how it eats her having to make such difficult decisions. You can help her, but only if you understand and understand means you can forgive her father."

"Letting go…" Shinn said while exhaling softly. It was such a difficult thing to do but perhaps he needed to really consider it. "I'll think about it. It's a bit too much to swallow but I promise I'll consider it."

"That's all I expect from you, since the final choice is yours."

"Thanks, Murdoch."

"Any time, Shinn."

* * *

Although it took some resources, the trial had yielded a pretty encouraging result. The manufactured Kiras had become more and more stable due to the data yielded. Of course, they couldn't compare to the Alpha Kira that was piloting that stolen prototypes but they would be more than capable of fighting against UNITY's normal grunts.

With the recent attack successfully executed and the Confederation's prototype successfully destroyed, it was about time to proceed with the next stage of plan.

While some may think that drawing the wrath of both Confederation and ZAFT was akin to signing one's death warrant, Hilbert didn't think so. But striking deep at their secret facilities, The Destineds had ensured that their resources would be redirected to protecting other bases around the Earthsphere. That would get The Destineds the time it needed to mount the final attack on UNITY.

An ensign came, saluted him and handed a piece of paper before leaving the room.

The enigmatic leader gazed at the information on the paper. It seemed that everyone was in their respective positions, ready for the upcoming operation. He smiled. If all went well, it would get another valuable addition to its burgeoning pool of talents.

And the world would find out about them soon enough

A face appeared on the screen in front of him. "Sir, all preparations have been completed and the C-grade pilots are standing by in their mobile suits."

"Excellent. Give the order to proceed with the attack at 0200 hours."

"Yes sir!"

At the specified time, three ZAKUs emerged from their Mirage Colloid shells and quick opened fire at the six defensive satellites in the vicinity. Since the satellites were positioned right above ORB to prevent orbital drop, their destruction would ensure that such operation could be carried out successfully.

"This is Stuka-One, targets have been eliminated within the time frame," the leader of the trio reported.

"This is Stork-One. Message received loud and clear. Moving to the seeding position."

Few minutes later a modified transport shuttle arrived, a drop pod attacked to each of its wings. "Beginning seeding operation," the pilot reported as the two drop pods detached themselves and began descending to Earth.

"Stuka-One to Stork-One. Are you sure we're supposed to ignore the low observable satellite that is spying on us right now?"

"Positive. We want them to find out our 'surprise' attack and thus react to it."

* * *

**Author's note (1 November 2009)**

1. I've finally written the second last major event to take place.

2. I already had fun poking at the 'onsen' scene where Lacus and Cagalli had their little talk in my previous fiction Fallen Angel and I'm poking it here again. Honestly, when I saw that scene, I'm a bit confused to when they arrived at their destination since 'logically', an onsen or even a Japanese style bath is only found on land. Heck, building them even on an Earth-bound aircraft carrier is already nonsensical, what more a spaceship.


	18. The damned and condemned's pair of eyes

Shinn put a hand over his yawning mouth, only to scowl when it made contact with the solid crystal visor of his helmet. He had forgotten that he was wearing his flight suit. "Control, this is flight seven-one-two-niner. Request confirmation on clearance to launch. Preferably before tomorrow if possible."

Another day of repetitive test piloting and mock-combat with the Confederation mobile suit while Erica was playing with another toy back at ORB.

The CIC operator appeared on the screen, face stern. "Flight seven-one-two-niner, there's a change in plan."

Even while the operator was saying that, Shinn noticed that ground support staff began scurrying out, bringing some equipments. He narrowed his eyes when he identified few live weapons among the equipments.

"You are ordered to intercept multiple hostile mobile suits currently engaging our forces in ORB. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."

"What's the situation over there?"

"Transmitting the information now. Once you arrive at the designated point, you're to join up with Flight Eagle from Miyamoto for this mission."

The Skyknight pilot glanced toward the Strike Noir which was secured to the catapult unit next to his aircraft. "How about Strike Noir?"

"I'm going as well," Sven answered.

"The ORB political channel is currently putting in a request for…" the CIC began but was interrupted by Sven.

"I'm authorized to provide any assistance as long it is permitted by ORB."

Shinn shrugged and looked at the CIC operator. "Well, that's that. I trust the paperwork will be taken care of."

A few minutes later, after both mobile suits were refitted for combat, they took off.

* * *

"Command! We need more backups! The mobile suits are too strong!" the flight leader announced before he disappeared.

Kisaka grabbed a nearby microphone. "Falcon flight, come in! What's the status there? Can you read me?"

Another flight leader appeared. "This is Windhover flight leader. Falcon has been destroyed. What should we do?"

"Maintain distance from the mobile suits and engage them for afar!" a female voice replied.

Kisaka turned toward the new voice. "Lady Cagalli," he raised his eyebrows in surprise as he didn't expect another person to come as well, "Lady Clyne."

In long strides, Cagalli moved up to him. "I want all Murasames to maintain their distance and wage an attrition fight until Shinn and his partner arrives to help."

Lacus nodded. "I'm not sure how long but just like the Extendeds, those pilots you fought against had some time limit to their abilities."

"Keep them engaged enough so that they couldn't press on their attack," Cagalli said to the flight leader before turning toward Kisaka. "How about the civilians?"

"We've managed to keep the invaders away from the populated areas…" he said while grimacing, knowing very well that his leader could tell that ORB had lost a lot of good soldiers trying to achieve that, "and we've evacuated approximately 95 percent of the population."

The remaining 5 percent probably those who live at the outskirt of the cities, Cagalli told herself. "Good work. Now let's hope we can reduce the number of casualties until Shinn can take care of the matter.

Kisaka couldn't help himself from frowning. Since when Cagalli trusted Shinn that much?

* * *

There was a chirping sound and Erica appeared on the screen in front of Shinn and the man expected her to start reminding him to take care of Skyknight and try to ensure its return in one piece. He remembered that she stayed in ORB to finish the module she was working on; he had thought that he had escaped her but fate has decreed otherwise. "You call to remind me to take care of Skyknight less I'm going to be bankrupt for the second time in my life?" The first time was when he crashed the Murasame with the Zangetsu prototype.

"No. I'm here to tell you that I've launched A-03 Bishamon module via WASP unit. It should come up on your radar soon. Hot-swap the weapons and battery pack. Although Strike Noir is incompatible with hot-swap system, it can take the batteries and the additional beam rifle clips from the other WASP."

As she had suggested, two WASPs or Weaponry Automated Striker Packs appeared on his radar. "Got it." Shinn said. It was a good thing that Erica had anticipated that drain caused by the high-speed flight to ORB. "Thanks."

"Oh, since you mentioned it, you better bring everything home unscathed. I don't think human skin would make a fashionable handbag."

He gulped. "Yeah, I will remember that."

"Good," Erica said as she signed off.

Meanwhile, the WASP carrying A-03 Bishamon had moved in so that it ended up right behind Skyknight.

"Initiating laser guidance for hot-swap," Shinn said as he pressed the button. There was a small tremor inside the cockpit as the WASP docked with Skyknight for the exchange to take place. At the same time, the HUDs began updating themselves.

Both Skyknight and Strike Noir would make it in time to stop the invaders, Shinn promised to himself.

* * *

"Missiles coming our way!" the radar operator announced over her console. "Twenty of them!"

The captain of the ship let out a small Japanese expletive. "Tell the Murasame flight we have on air to shoot them down." As the captain of Temujin, ORB's Hanzo-class carrier, he was an experienced man, having served under Todaka briefly in the second war. But even he couldn't prevent that clenching feeling in his gut at the announcement. Then wasn't the time to give in to fear nevertheless. "Get the cruisers to support!"

"Thirteen more missiles remaining!" the radar operator announced despite what had happened.

"Fire our interceptors!"

Three seconds later, multiple interceptor missiles were launched simultaneously in an attempt to reduce the number of threats coming toward the ship.

But the captain wasn't content to wait. "Set all of our CIWS to full auto, with engagement set at 1000 meters!" he barked at the CIC operator.

"Yes sir!"

"Seven more remaining. 3000 meters," the radar operator announced excitedly.

"Engage the CIWS!" the captain ordered, taking into account the missiles would be closing in the time it took to fully activate the system after the order have been issued.

However, there was no evidence of the CIWS units being activated. Alarmed, he turned toward the CIC operator only to see that the person had just finished wearing a gas mask. "What are you…"

The captain couldn't finish his word as the hell broke loose.

* * *

Strike Noir let the pistols' battery cartridges slide toward the ground below it before taking out fresh cartridges to replace them.

"That's the last of them," Shinn said to his partner as the final GINN careened to the sea. Hopefully wrecked mobile suit could be recovered; Cagalli had told him to capture one intact.

Well, the mobile suit was _technically _intact when it crashed into the sea and she didn't exactly asked for it to be gift-wrapped so he had fulfilled his mission.

"We must be careful in case the enemy is sending out reinforcement," Sven continued.

"I know that. In fact I'm recharging just in case."

The battle was, he wouldn't say it out loud less someone would smack his head, disappointing. Simply disappointing. It wasn't that he wanted to fight or anything but he had wasted a lot of time and energy just to get to the scene only to see that the enemy pilots' had reached the end of their endurance. Admittedly, one of the pilots managed to show the potential of being a threat for few minutes but that was all. Bereft of their forced skills and piloting outdated mobile suits, they became as graceful as caterpillars trying to escape from hungry birds.

Despite that, Shinn was truly happy that the attack had failed and ORB was undamaged. He really wouldn't mind if the enemy use the tactic…

Tactic.

Shinn felt his blood turned to ice. "Command! Cagalli!" he called out for her, forgetting to refer to her formally as his mind was in turmoil at that moment. "What is the current status of Temujin?"

"Status?" Cagalli's face on the screen was confused. "It did send a periodic report few minutes ago."

The answer didn't calm him at all. "How about other fleets?"

"The same." The ORB representative began to frown. "Is there something wrong?"

"I will tell you later but please trust me with this: contact all fleets now."

Cagalli's face instantly changed as she understood where he was going with that request. "Wait for a moment," she said while signing off.

Shinn gritted his teeth and drummed his finger on the cockpit's console impatiently.

"Do you think it's a trap?" Sven asked.

"Yeah. They certainly wanted us to concentrate at this place so either they will attack this place again using wide-area effect weapons or…"

Cagalli reappeared on the screen. "Temujin's not responding to the call."

Shinn growled in frustration. "Damn! I knew it! Cagalli, Sven and I will return to the carrier to investigate."

"I'll send a squadron as well."

"No," Shinn said while shaking his head. "They might attack spring another trap."

"Very well," she said reluctantly. "Be careful."

"I will."

* * *

It was very a very painful throbbing sensation, Murdoch decided as he opened his eyes. The former Archangel engineer put a hand on his stomach injury and grimaced at the resulting pain. He brought the hand into his view and watched the blood on it. With that kind of injury, he wouldn't last long. With each passing second, more and more life will drain away from him. The ORB engineer turned his head to look around. Everyone else in the room would never wake up again; gunshot wounds on their bodies ensured that fact.

When the attack came, everyone in the hangar was caught by surprise. The main bridge barely announced the gas attack before everyone, including him succumbed to it.

Murdoch got up and slowly made his way to the nearest wall and leaned on it, breathing heavily. Whoever attacked them utilized nerve gas in blatant breach of the anti-biochemical weapons treaty. But as he gasped for breath, fatigued by the effort to move to the wall, Murdoch wondered why the attackers used a less-potent nerve gas to knock everyone out and send sweepers to comb through the ship, killing everyone with gun shots. They could have killed everyone using a more powerful gas or destroy the ship altogether. Something was not right.

The sound was faint but Murdoch could make out more than one people walking along the corridor near his position. As silent as his injured body could allow him, Murdoch pressed himself to the wall in an attempt to reduce his visibility.

"Roger. The ship has been cleared," a calm voice reported.

Even though it was very painful, Murdoch managed to hold his breath. The approaching footsteps becoming louder and louder as the people became nearer and nearer; he could make out at least three people though it could be more. One thing for sure, trying to tackle them would be useless.

"Understood. We will transfer the information to Washington immediately," the man continued on as he and few others continued on their way.

Washington? Murdoch couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Washington was the former capital of Atlantic Federation until it became a larger part of Confederation where Berlin, rebuilt after the massacre, became the administrative capital. However, Washington still remained the administration centre of the western side of the Confederation. Also, it was the main headquarter of ANDES or Alliance of Nascent Defense Engineering Sector, the Confederation military research arm.

Once he was quite confident that he was alone once more, Murdoch though about what he should do. The gash on his stomach was becoming worse and worse that he had no doubt that he would die if he let the situation as it is. He eyed the first aid kit nearby and hobbled toward it.

Few minutes later, he examined his handiwork and mentally shook his head; he was bad at non-technical things. However, the makeshift bandage and the adhesive spray he used to close his wound would hold on a bit longer.

Murdoch took a deep breath.

Then he began moving toward the quarters. His instinct was to go and find some doctors or medics to treat himself but judging from the thoroughness of the attackers, he doubt that everyone else was still alive. He ironically noted that he was still alive because someone screwed up and had not ensured that he was dead.

Oh, he would make sure that they would pay for that mistake, even if that the last thing he did. That was why he was risking his life to get to a transmitter. No doubt the killers had destroyed those in the bridge but Murdoch know something that they didn't: one of the cook orderlies had a mobile communication broadcaster hidden at his bunk

As his mind began to fumble due to the blood loss, he tried to remember the name. Chow? Chin? He settled on the name Chin when he saw the name plate on one of the bunks. He made his way and searched it. He wasn't to be disappointed. As the orderly had bragged, the communicator was there.

There were multiples explosions that caused the ship to rock and Murdoch was thrown to the floor. Instinctively, he clutched the radio close to his person and spun so that it would be his body that hit the floor. While doing so saved the device, the fall had reopened his wound and blood began seeping through once more. Bleakly Murdoch realized that contacting ORB would be the last thing that he could do before he finally succumb to his injury.

However, he will reveal the truth behind the attack to ORB.

The old engineer got up and with a hand holding the communicator he adjusted the dials frantically, trying to get to ORB's frequency with another. To his consternation, he was unsuccessful to establish a link with the mainland or nearby fleet. Undaunted, he tried again and again until a face appeared on the screen.

Murdoch almost chocked himself at the view.

"**Murdoch?" **the person asked, the monotonous voice revealing a little bit of shock.

Murdoch didn't notice that his breath was becoming more and more ragged; his mind was still trying to come to the term that Kira was involved with the attack. The brat Shinn was right.

"**It looks like you're stationed at this ship," Kira **commented, a sorrowful expression on his face.

The said man gasped. "Yeah, I don't know you care. Now let me contact ORB."

"**Why?"**

"Why? WHY?" Murdoch wheezed as he shook the device with both hand. "It's because of what you did!" he roared, not realizing that he was exacerbating his condition. "I'm going to tell ORB…"

"**I'm sorry, but I wouldn't let you do that."**

Murdoch didn't hear those words as he had fallen down, the communicator smashing to the floor next to him.

* * *

Despite what his eyes were telling him, Shinn refused to believed them.

The black mobile suit was standing in front of Temujin, with the carrier belching out smokes amidst the fire attempting to overrun it.

"Temujin!" Shinn cried out in alarm.

It was then he saw that the black mobile suit was transmitting something.

"**The clock can never be turned back,"** a person with Kira's face said. It looked as if he was talking to Shinn but upon a closer inspection he seemed to be talking to the ship. **"That's what you said at that time, isn't it Murdoch? Time will keep moving and the only way forward is to move with it."**

The black mobile suit slowly brought forth its rifle.

"**But what if you have strayed from the so-called correct path so much that you found out the bottomless chasm you're traveling toward is probably the real path that you're supposed to take?"**

Sparks of pure energy began gathering at the tip of the rifle. At the same time, the mobile's color changed from black to white.

"**Anyway, it is okay, Murdoch. With your death on my conscience, there's no one left to stop me, not even Kira. Even now the seeds of nothingness have been sown in his mind. " **

The white mobile suit aimed its rifle at the damaged carrier. Meanwhile, more and more sparks began gathering at the tip, signifying that the energy buildup was still continuing.

"STOP!" Shinn screamed as Skyknight dashed toward them; it was obvious what the mobile suit was going to do.

"Calm down, Shinn," Sven called out to him. "It could be a trap."

However, the attempt was all in vain as the young Coordinator was determined to stop the upcoming attack. Quickly reconfiguring Skyknight into mobile suit, Shinn had to grunt off the resulting momentum generated by the sudden loss of velocity caused by the reconfiguration. Having no time to properly aim Skyknight's rifle, Shinn opted to activate its beam saber and attempted to stab the white mobile suit.

"Please let me make it," Shinn said as the distance between the two mobile suits growing smaller and smaller.

Just as he was just in range for his attack, his opponent shifted a bit. The movement was very small but yet it was enough to cause Skyknight to miss it. Then, it opened fire.

The mobile suit faded back into its original black color as it opened fire, as if its white was drained away by the shot it unleashed. The very high energy output from the shot hit the carrier and tore into the ship, utterly decimating it.

"No…" Shinn whispered ghastly.

"**Perhaps it is pretentious of me to be saying this, Murdoch, but I'm really sorry."**

Skyknight slowly turned toward its opponent. "Damn you, bastard!" Shinn screamed. "You have killed Murdoch!"

"**Kill Murdoch…**" **Kira **was silent for a while. **"Yes, that's right. I am responsible for his death."**

"How could you? He always talked good about you, but yet you killed him."

"**Kind words alone wouldn't save the soul, what more the world. Isn't that what happened to Stellar, Shinn Asuka? Even though you had called for her, in the end she died."**

"It's because you killed her!"

"**No. The real Kira Yamato killed her. As for the attack on your carrier, would you like to know what happened?"**

"Careful, Shinn," Sven reminded him as Strike Noir rejoined its partner. "He's trying to provoke you."

"I know." Shinn really had trouble controlling his anger but he managed to do so. He could still hear Murdoch's voice in his ears, chiding him for losing control and telling him that a real man must be calm and collected at all time.

"**The attack on your carrier is orchestrated by the Confederation because it wanted you to betray ORB."**

"Do you think I'm an idiot? You guys are behind the attack, not the Confederation!"

Shinn wasn't the sharpest knife all the time but even he could see the flaw in the explanation offered. What seemed more likely was the fake Kira's masters planned the attack and then blamed the whole thing on Confederation. By doing so, it was hoped that he would be blinded by anger and take out the anger on any nearby Confederation unit which happened to be Sven's Strike Noir. If he had attacked Sven, that would have caused an international incident between ORB and Confederation since Sven was essentially Confederation's diplomat to ORB even though he was a military officer. Such attack would cause a massive strain on the two nations' still healing relationship and inadvertently had the potential to disrupt UNITY's government in the long run.

"**Oh, why would we do such a thing when we know that you'll be angry at us? Surely you can't see for yourself that your Confederation friend is the one providing the information for the attack?"**

"Don't bother trying to trick me. You're the one behind the attack on the first place!" Shinn said while Skyknight reactivated its beam saber.

**Kira **was quiet for a few seconds. **"Tsk, tsk, tsk… such a pity. The Destineds really need someone with your power and abilities. But now…" **The black mobile suit brought forward its beam rifle.

"Careful, that's Tombak Shakti," Sven said.

"What's that?" Shinn asked back, not really paying attention.

"A very high output beam rifle developed for one of Strike's variants. But I didn't think that I'll be seeing it in the enemy's hands. Watch out for the shots; if sufficiently charged, it can even overpower compact lightwave barrier generator. And that mobile suit… if I'm not mistaken, it's the rumored Dammerungsfee, a special ops mobile suit developed for UNITY."

Shinn's enemy fired a shot and he easily moved out of harm's way. "I don't care how powerful it is. As long it doesn't hit, it doesn't matter. All that matter is killing him."

"Even though at the cost of forsaking everything?" Sven asked. "Even Representative Attha?"

Rationality began to filter through Shinn's mind at the mention of her and he abandoned his reckless desire to attack Murdoch's killer. Even though a small part of him wondered where Sven found out about him dating Cagalli, he decided to pay attention to a bigger issue. "You have a point," he admitted after suppressing his rage. "But what should we do against that guy?" While it was more prudent to withdraw tactically, despite misgivings Shinn had over that option, doing so would be difficult as it would leave both of them open to attack.

"We have no choice…" the Strike Noir remarked in response to the question. "We will fight him but we must remain calm."

Even if black mobile suit was more advanced than theirs and was piloted by an experienced pilot, with careful coordination, the two of them might have a chance after all.

"We have to bring him down quickly," Shinn said. He had almost forgotten the little inconvenient fact that both Strike Noir and Skyknight were battery operated whereas the enemy mobile suit would probably be nuclear-operated. "Or last as long as we could before others arrive." Still, with careful usage, the two mobile suits could last more than an hour, well beyond the time needed for ORB to send in reinforcement. Already, his fingers began tapping coded message for transmission to ORB.

"I have the feeling that you prefer that we defeat him."

Shinn didn't answer but charged forward, guided by his SEED induced ability, restarting the fight.

Meanwhile, Sven seemed to understand what he had to do and provided support to him, attacking the black mobile suit. It was rather strange and later Shinn would sit down thinking about it; they worked together rather well against their common foe. According to situation, they changed roles, becoming an attacker in one moment and supporter the next. As a result, the black mobile suit pilot became confused to as which one to target first.

With Shinn himself being kept in check by Sven, he noticed that his opponent was actually wasn't as calm as he tried to portray. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would have said that the fake Kira was becoming more and more agitated as the fight progressed on.

Then a very rare chance appeared when the fake tried to attack Strike Noir, leaving Dammerungsfee open. Quickly seizing the chance, Shinn aimed and open fire.

As expected, the mobile suit blocked the shot with its lightwave barrier but by then, three more shots have been fired along the same vector by Skyknight and they converged on the shield almost simultaneously. The resulting blast threw the black mobile suit off balance and Shinn followed his previous attack with a beam saber slash that forced it to block with the same shield. The beam saber hit the shield and even though it was repulsed, he could see that the unit was damaged.

"**Damn you, Asuka!" **the fake Kira cursed, breaking the radio silence.

"The real Kira Yamato wouldn't curse me so cavalierly, but you know what? I don't care. You can curse me from your grave all you want and I don't care." Skyknight attacked with another beam saber and although it was also repulsed, the barrier finally overloaded and shorted out

"**I will teach you…" **Before the fake Kira could counterattack, Sven had rammed Strike Noir against his mobile suit and Skyknight continued the advantage they had by delivering a kick to the place where he presumed the cockpit was located.

The black mobile suit began to lose attitude and Sven wanted to give chase.

"NO!" Shinn stopped him as a familiar memory resurfaced, one of when he was still serving under ZAFT.

It was fortunate that Strike Noir didn't attempt to attack as Dammerungsfee threw multiple armor penetrators at them. Easily avoided at such a distance, they would have been very dangerous in close quarters.

The very brief lull in the battle caused Shinn to see something wrong. The fake Kira's face had disappeared from the screen; in his stead was someone else in full flight. The person, no, the woman, seemed familiar…

Then he remembered.

* * *

"_Wait!" _

_The woman halted. Shinn couldn't help but admire her luxuriant hair flowing beautifully in the wind, only the techno-looking headband slightly out of place with the aura of beauty she projected. He imagined Cagalli with long hair and agreed that she would look more beautiful even though her current hair style was quite attractive and practical as well._

"_If you don't want to tell me your name it's okay. But can you tell me why you said that you're a fool?" Shinn asked the woman._

_She had a faraway gaze as she began to answer, "Once upon a time, I could have anything that I want. Money, wealth, fame, anything that you can think off. But there's something that I couldn't get: the love of my parents; my mother died when I was small and my father became obsessed with providing me everything else that he forgot I need love more than anything. Then the war erupted and I lost everything but at the same time I had a chance to get something that I have been wanting: love."_

"_What happened?"_

"_I threw away the chance to get another thing that I thought I wanted at that time: revenge." She smiled bitterly. "Later I found out that I didn't want revenge, but I've already lost that love to someone more deserving, someone who I think is quite annoying even until today because she is simply perfect compared to me." She turned to gaze at the monument again. "But that's my fault in the first place, so I couldn't really blame her." She turned toward him. "How about you, Shinn? You've had your revenge, so what now?"_

_Shinn's eyes widened at her calm comment. It was as if she knew about his past history. _

_As if knowing what he was thinking, she smiled and said, "This is not the first time we've met and maybe it wouldn't our last as well." Without waiting, she continued on, leaving him at the monument._

"_We'll meet again?" Shinn questioned himself as she disappeared from his view._

* * *

"_I see,"_

"_That's all what you wanted to say?" Shinn asked incredulously. "Aren't you supposed to chide me or say that my way of thinking is wrong?"_

"_I can't do that, ZAFT's pilot. You being here is proof enough that you believe what you do is right. However, I'm also here because I believe in my own reason," Fallen engaged its Plume de Lune and charged at Destiny._

"_She's fast," Shinn thought to himself as he engaged Destiny's Wings of Light to propel it toward his opponent. The two clashed swords once again, with Fallen having to use both Saittenwaffe to hold Destiny's Arondight. Shinn had considered using Destiny's palm cannon but doing so required him to relinquish Destiny's pressure on Fallen. Despite it being a bit stronger than Fallen, he had no illusion that if he ease__d__ the pressure, Fallen would take the opportunity to break the blockade and kill him. "So, there's no convincing you to hold back?" he asked._

"_No,"_

"_Very well," he said. His pupils began to expand he inadvertently triggered his SEED. Once more his mind becoming clearer as his senses perceptivity increased. Even as he entered such state, he could feel that something was different with him. Unlike the previous situation where his thoughts were filled with intense desire to kill his enemies, his current thoughts had none of those; only sound strategies to defeat the opponent in front of him. _

_Destiny pushed its sword to the side, suprising Fallen and caused it to veer past Destiny. Quickly it switch Arondight to the left hand, deployed its mega cannon and fired it at the gunmetal black mobile suit, knowing that it would evade, most probably to his left. His prediction came true and Fallen came into the position where he can stab it with Arondight easily._

_Shinn knew that even though his mobile suit was more advanced than the one he's fighting against, there wasn't any guarantee that he would triumph. That in turn caused him to worry because the longer the battle drags on, more and more people from both ZAFT and ORB would die; one that Gilbert and he wanted to minimize as much as possible. It should have been a textbook example; Shinn defeats the leader of ORB's military and the latter's moral would plummet, leading to a fast and swift victory._

_However, his fight against the leader was interrupted by the one he was fighting at the present time. Against the leader, his chance was quite big but against the current foe, he had no idea; he might even lose._

* * *

_Even as his Impulse was crashing to the ground, Shinn still watched the ensuing fight between the lost ZAFT prototype ZGMF-X16S Fallen and the one stolen by Terminal, ZGMF-X09 Freedom. If he had to describe the feeling he had at that time, he would have said that it was as if he was watching the fight between two angels; the fallen angel against the champion of light, fighting against the background of Berlin burning. He had thought that he had made it since he was selected to join the Red Coats. However the fight between the two mobile suits dealt a blow to that belief._

_He was outclassed but somehow he knew that it wasn't due to skills as the ferocity displayed by the combatants exceeded his own even though his mind had already been clouded by anger over what Freedom had did to Stellar._

_In a strange way, Fallen's pilot also had some empathic link with Stellar just like him and Shinn couldn't help but wonder whether Fallen attacking Freedom was also revenge-motivated. Maybe she was trying to avenge Stellar as well…_

"_Get him, Fallen," Shinn uttered before his mobile suit initiated dead-stick landing._

* * *

_Even though he was busy fighting against Abyss, Shinn did follow the conversation between Minerva and the mercenary ship. Unlike Rey who was worried that the ship and its lone mobile suit would stab Minerva in the back, Shinn was more concerned with the ability of the pilot of the stolen ZAFT prototype. _

_He had heard about ZGMF-X16S Fallen, the prototype that was designed based on Freedom and Providence that was destroyed in a freak accident. However, the one that appeared to lend some assistance to Minerva seemed like a pale imitation of the said prototype; it neither had any DRAGOON nor it carrying any other weapons utilized by Freedom and Providence. _

_It was very doubtful that the mercenary had Fallen in the first place. The mobile suit was a fake, in order to trick both ZAFT and the attacking ORB fleet that the mercenary had a superior weapon in their hand._

_Shinn predicted that the fake would be destroyed in a few seconds. Evading an attack from Abyss, Shinn suppressed an urge to roll his eyes. Why did every Tom and Dick mercenary think that they can even compare with the technologically superior ZAFT military he didn't know._

_On the positive side, 'Fallen' could at least serve as a decoy for Lunamaria and Rey._

_It was the day he was proven wrong as the mobile suit proved its mettle and its intervention had assured Minerva a victory and the right to survive that day._

* * *

"You! I know you!" Shinn uttered. "You're her! The person I met that day! Fallen's pilot! No wonder your fighting style is similar!"

The black mobile suit's pilot didn't react to what he said.

Shinn would have said something else but he became shocked when the woman's pupils changed from their grey hues to morbid yellow and then into ruby red.

A second later, Dammerungsfee appeared right in front of Skyknight. Shinn's view of the outside world was cut off but a warning panel told him that Skyknight's main camera or rather the 'head' had been destroyed. Multiple warnings began to appear as the mobile suit began to sustain more and more damages. As Skyknight began to drop, Shinn grappled with the controls and so was unable to see the similar fate that had befallen Sven's Strike Noir.

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (17 November 2009)**

1. Writing this chapter is rather hard but I expected it to be since I envisioned it over a year ago. Frankly speaking, to me it's a bit darker than the chapter where Eternal was destroyed in FA. Oh well.

2. For those of you who haven't read Fallen Angel, Cagalli didn't have Akatsuki in that fiction. Instead, she piloted reconfigurable ORB-00 Shizuka that could be customised with various equipment / weapons load depending on the mission requirement, either military or rescue purposes. It was part of Nuzumi's vision for more and more mobile suits to be used for peaceful purposes (but defending one's country is important as well). A-03 Bishamon is an example of such module that it can use. Also, the modules can also be equipped on Weaponry Automated Strike Pack or WASP, an automated version of IWSP. Since Skyknight was based on Shizuka, it could also use the said module.


	19. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

_Fllay pressed a button and the magazine clip ejected from the Tombak Shakti rifle her Strike Lance was carrying. Then methodically, she reloaded the rifle with a new clip before taking another beam rifle belonging to a ZAKU she had dismembered just two minutes ago. _

_There was a slight bumping sound and the cockpit shook a bit but she didn't pay heed because she knew that it was caused by some wreckage from the mobile suits she had destroyed had bumped against her mobile suit. The crimson haired pilot took a deep breath and exhaled. It looked like the air supply she brought in wouldn't be enough even though she had taken into account the cost of her using APEX ability. _

_She looked at the radar and estimated that she had around ten seconds before the third wave entered effective combat range. For an ambush mission, the enemy force was quiet eager, sending a lot of mobile suits to complete the job. Then again, since Kira and Lacus were in the convoy they were supposed to be attacked, it was to be expected. _

_However, they didn't predict that a flight of four mobile suits would stand in their way, and even then they didn't predict that the four mobile suits would fend off fifteen mobile suits. However, out of four mobile suits, only one remained; two had been destroyed and the other one had been told to return home due to extensive damage it had suffered. As for the enemy, they are sending another twelve to complete the job the fifteen had failed to accomplish. _

_It was a good thing none of her enemies carried long range missiles or else they could have picked her from distance and she would have been screwed. Then again, she thought as the head of her wingman's mobile suit's drifted in her view, she was screwed; it was just a matter of when and how._

_Although she had salvaged enough power to return to base, it wasn't to be because she had to use it to fend off the enemy mobile suits intend on attacking the convoy. Despite the rather bleak situation she was in, Fllay didn't regret it because it meant Kira would survive, Lacus would survive. _

_Ah, right, she was a fool._

_The radar beeped as the first mobile suit entered the effective range. Calmly, she aimed for it knowing very well that the enemy was doing the same thing. She opened fire and then quickly moved away from her position to avoid the incoming shot. There was an explosion in the distance. _

_Eleven more to go. _

_Then she noticed that something was not right. Six of the mobile suits were breaking away from the formation. At first, she thought that they were trying to encircle her but that notion was dispelled when she saw where they were heading: toward the convoy. Upon optical imagery, she saw that four of them formed pairs that were carrying a contraption suspiciously resembled a missile rack. _

_The metallic voice synthesizers coolly told her that each of the two missile racks was probably loaded with four Archers tactical nuclear missiles. _

_Fllay's eyes widened. They have to be stopped at all cost. Even if Kira shot down the missiles, the resulting radiation caused by the explosions would probably kill everyone in the convoy. _

_A shot passed to the left of Strike LANCE. It looked liked the remaining five mobile suits wouldn't let her succeed. _

_Growling, the Strike pilot increasing the throttle to the maximum, ignoring the pain as she was slammed into her seat. "Please let me make it…" she prayed as the lone mobile suit slowly gained on the nuclear strike team. But then she had to changed vectors again and again as the other five kept firing at her. _

"_I can't make it…" she growled quietly. Then images of Kira began playing in her mind, with his voice telling her that he had faith in her. _

_Then something inside her soul broke and her vision turned bloody as rage took over her. Without losing any speed, Strike LANCE dashed toward the five mobile suits, making slight corrections only to evade the beam shots. When it was close enough, it opened let loose a couple of shots before speeding away, the five mobile suits exploding one by one behind it. _

_The nuclear strike team didn't meet their end as fast. After crippling all of the six mobile suits, Fllay methodically ripped open their cockpits, grinning venomously at the terrified pilot inside. How dare they plot to kill Kira! She taught them well, crushing their limbs one by one before finally ending their lives in an act of twisted mercy. How dare them! _

_In the end, only she remained and everyone was a threat to Kira had been disposed of in manner befitting of trashes they were. She laughed. Yes, she showed them!_

_Her anger finally sated, the red veil was lifted from her view and it was then the indescribable pain crushed her to beyond consciousness._

'_Kira, I'm sorry… looks like I'm not good enough…for…'_

* * *

The first thing that Shinn's mind registered when he woke up was the sterile and sharp smell of chemical sanitizer. Then there was that steady electronic beeping not far from his head. "Not again," he thought bleakly to himself as he cracked open an eye.

The room was dark, he ventured a guess that it was night time, but he saw enough to confirm that he was indeed in a hospital room. He smiled sardonically to himself. Maybe he was could ask for a name plate to be fixed to his bed if he kept getting into trouble again and again.

It was then Shinn noticed a small sound coming from his right and he moved his head towards it. His eyes widened for a moment before his full face expression changed into one of warmth and tenderness.

Cagalli was sitting next to his bed, asleep.

Shinn would be lying through his teeth if he said that the mere sight of her sleeping in her chair was breathtaking; her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was messy. He could even see a small trail of saliva on her left cheek.

Yes, he would be lying if he said the sight was beautiful as it was not. However, it was the truth that he felt happy that she was keeping a bedside vigil for him. He admitted that he was wrong and Sven was right. There was no way he was going to let go of the current emotion that he was feeling at the moment and the source of it as well. He wasn't sure when but Cagalli had wormed her way into his heart but it looked like it would remain that way and he was content to let it be.

"Shinn, you stupid jerk," the said woman murmured in her sleep.

The said man couldn't help smiling at that comment. For better or for worse, he supposed as he closed his eyes, wanting sleep once more.

* * *

Shinn opened his eyes and instinctively looked to his right, half expecting to see Cagalli only to be disappointed. She wasn't there and he was only dreaming.

"Cagalli had to attend the service of those killed by the yesterday's attack so she can only return later this evening," a female voice interrupted Shinn's thought. "She did stay the night, you know so you don't have to second guess her feelings for you."

He turned toward the voice to see that Lacus Clyne was standing near the window, looking outside. "No, it's not that. I just thought that maybe I was dreaming about the whole thing."

"You're feeling well?"

The fact that the leader of UNITY, de facto caretaker government of Earthsphere was not lost on him. Wait, didn't she look like… Shinn groaned.

"Something wrong? Should I get the doctor?"

"No. It's just that I realized that you're the one at the orphanage."

Lacus smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry but for the sake of the children I have keep my identity a secret."

"Oh." The subtle message beneath her explanation told him that the woman was very much involved with the events happening recently.

"You know, she was a very worried about your condition."

He looked around to see that no part of his body was bandaged. That was a good sign.

"Even though the doctors said that you only suffered minor concussion she didn't leave this room. She's probably afraid that she will lose you so you should be honored, you know."

Shinn sighed. "Yeah. But her action is probably influenced by her so-called dead brother who wasn't really dead in the first place."

Lacus turned to stare at him before catching herself. "Sorry. Are you saying something about Kira being alive? How? Is that true?"

He scoffed. "Look. Just drop what you're doing. You're not going to convince. I already found out from the Fallen's pilot that he was still alive… and probably attached to a secret task force, one that you know about. Thinking about it, that's why you're pretty calm during his service that day even though I heard that the two of you were quite close."

It was left unsaid that Lacus had played a consoling role to Cagalli; a rather deceitful act as she knew that the man wasn't dead in the first place.

Lacus wanted to explain but Shinn was quick to hold up a hand.

"I have a general idea why you did it so don't bother. I'm not going to say anything to Cagalli. I just want to know about what happened with Temujin; not the crap that ORB's intel will come up with. Also, I want to know how in the hell the one I fought two years ago become involved in this whole matter and killed Murdoch."

This time, her stare was a long one. Gone was the façade Lacus wore for the world to see; in its stead was the face of a leader that had seen a lot of unnecessary deaths and was willing to do whatever it takes to stop such deaths. "If you want to see that 'truth', you would do well to listen to ORB's intel. But if you want the real truth, then let me tell you that there's no point in finding out as it had been erased anyway and you only have my words to rely on. One thing for sure, even though I also know Murdoch personally, his death was," she bit her lip as her expression grew frustrated, "was simply an unfortunate death, nothing more, nothing less."

A long period of silence passed before Shinn shook his head. "Tell me."

Lacus toss a small sphere which clung itself to the ceiling. Then the sphere opened up and an image appeared in front of Shinn's bed, showing some ships circling around a spot. "This picture was taken by our recon an hour ago showing ORB's navy combing through the site. Even though the official report will only be due in five hours time, I predicted the conclusion of the report is as follows: the enemy forces took advantage of the chaos in ORB to launch a surprise attack on Temujin, probably in hope of crippling ORB's naval power. However, the ship's defense cut out most of the invaders except for one. Dammerungfee, or as currently referred to by ORB as 'Black Widow'. Shinn and Sven encountered the mobile suit just before it obliterated the carrier.

"But that's not what happened, isn't it?" Shinn asked.

"What I'm going to say after this is without proofs. It is pure conjecture on my part with neither ORB or UNITY would be able to prove it. But that would explain everything so far."

Shinn clucked his tongue. "Go ahead."

"Shinn, the enemy was targeting you."

He got up and sat.

"You're shitting me."

"Even if you're into such perversion I wouldn't sully myself by doing the deed."

"Huh?" Shinn asked, gaping.

Lacus smiled. "It's a joke."

He groaned. "Lady Clyne. If someone tells you that you have a talent for making joke, know that he's a big, a very big liar."

She cleared her throat to mask her embarrassment. "You were handpicked by the late Chairman Durandal. I'm not questioning your loyalty or anything but the faction that attacked ORB yesterday is an ardent supporter of the Destiny Plan and hopped to convince you to join them."

"By killing my friends?"

"By killing your, no, _our _friends and then blaming the incident on Confederation. Also, it will trigger rift between ORB and Confederation that will take some time to clear and that time is probably what they wanted. UNITY's satellite intercepted a coded transmission from Temujin's location to somewhere in Washington. Now, a single transmission, even though it contained secret message, wasn't enough for incriminate Confederation. That's why they purposely staged an attack so that they could transmit it from Temujin."

Shinn narrowed his eyes. "How do you come up with that if the evidence was destroyed?"

"Simple. The ship was destroyed in order to hide this plan and cause ORB to arrive at their current conclusion."

"Let me guess… Fallen's pilot simply called you up and told you about this."

"Not exactly but the conjecture should suffice."

"What's your relationship with her anyway? Seems like you knew her well."

Lacus made a gesturing as if taking an invisible file and opening it. Instantly the sphere began displaying the picture woman with crimson hair. "This is the pilot you fought as well met at the monument that day?"

"Yeah…" he replied, amazed that she knew about the pilot.

"This is… Fllay Allster, scion of Allster family."

Shinn nodded, having heard about the name before but wasn't sure where.

The Clyne heiress made a flipping gesture and Fllay's biodata appeared. She then gave Shinn a brief overview of the Fallen's pilot history. "Any question?" she asked after she finished explaining.

"One. I noticed her combat ability is '11 – A minus.' What does that mean?"

"Oh. That. The number simply shows the ranking of the pilot and the grading shows overall ability. The designation was based on the rating system developed by Chairman Durandal and adapted for use by UNITY's intelligence agency. The power also takes into account of SEED as well as APEX ability." Another gesture and some stats were displayed. "For example, Kira is number one and you share the second place with Athrun."

"I'm an 'S'?" he commented, noting the designation.

"Yes, Kira, Athrun and you belong to this category."

Shinn mentally groaned. Trust Lacus the Pure to make a bad joke and then didn't notice the slip-of-tongue he made just then. Oh well, might as well keep quiet about it. Then he noticed that something wasn't right. "Wait…" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "If I'm number two, how come I got creamed by her?"

"Mobile suit capability…" Lacus was silent for a moment. "and the fact that the table didn't take into account what I tentatively refer to as 'Extreme SEED' or the ability to use SEED and APEX simultaneously. Even though all pilots who manifest SEED or APEX ability technically are able to use it, currently only she and Kira can do it. Also, she's the only one that can use it at a prolonged period."

"That means she's damn invincible and no one can stop her."

Lacus gasped. Then she hung her head and became quiet.

"Lacus?" Shinn asked after waiting for a full minute for her to say something.

Droplets of water splashed near her feet. "I've finally understood everything there is regarding this matter, including the plan for revenge. Revenge, because exacting revenge wouldn't lead to salvation but rather perpetuates the corruption and perversion."

* * *

Inside UNITY's Intelligence Agency, I9, the screen belonging to an operator changed. At first, she casually looked over it. But then she panicked when she realized what she was reading. "SIR!"

Few hours later, inside the agency's main office, Mwu stared at the screen. "Have you confirmed the veracity of the information?" he asked the woman next to him.

"How about offering me coffee instead? You have a reputation for being smooth player and I'm sure you would like to keep that reputation. After all, this is the first time I've invited here."

"The staff is already on the way with your favorite_ tea._" He grinned. "Besides, I would prefer to keep my reputation as a good husband. That makes more twice as more appealing, Miss Hahnenfuss."

Shiho scoffed. "Whatever. We have send Blitz to scout the said position and the remote sensing equipments are picking up some readings. I'm not sure whether it is true that their base is at that coordinate but at least I'm sure that whatever it is, it's something huge. How about your end?"

"Those positions are indeed their bases on Earth."

"It's like Lady Lacus said: it is strange how Sleipneir managed to get so much information on the enemy. If not for the fact that Lady Lacus vouched for the informer personally, I would have pegged him as being involved with the enemy."

"She never vouched Sleipneir as not being involved with the enemy," Mwu commented.

Despite being surprised when the man next to him point that out, Shiho reined herself from giving a reply.

"So what do we do now?"

"The Security Council will have to know these findings and then…" she stopped, "We will take action."

* * *

It was under the cover of night time when the squad of five special operation operators arrived at their designated spot. The leader looked at the clock and held two fingers toward his team. Twenty more minutes the start of the operation. They arrived just in time for the attack. As two of his men began to set up the device that will illuminate their target, the leader idly wondered whether the other two teams managed to arrive at their respective spots; he wouldn't know, because the radio silence nature of the operation meant that they only bring short range radio for emergency use in case they need to communicate to each other.

That was to be expected since they weren't assassins at that time but were thieves. Hence, they will not enter the place with guns blazing but with stealth.

The men had finished mounting the tripod and one of them nodded toward him as the other punched some command. The leader gestured. It's time that they make way to their extraction point or wherever as long as they didn't remain at the place.

The air raid alarm began resonating throughout the place.

At the same time, a squadron of mobile armours flew toward the same place, each fully loaded with missiles. The pilots knew that they had been detected but that wouldn't stop them. Three of them, carrying anti-radiation missile, were the first ones to fire, followed by others. Bereft of their missiles, the squadron turned away from the area. The squadron was there to soften the targets and after completing their mission had no business remaining in the battlefield.

In its place, another squadron of mobile armours carrying anti-armor missiles fell into formation.

Meanwhile, the anti-radiation sensors in the missiles launched by the first squadron began picking up the radar locations and they eagerly raced toward their selected target whereas the others only guided by inertial guidance, continued flying straight. Then, the sensors in the latter missiles detected laser illumination at certain coordinates and the navigation computers arrived at the conclusion that places at the coordinates were the targets the missiles are supposed to destroy.

One by one, the places began to be engulfed in successive fireballs.

The second squadron of mobile armor continued moving forward, blazing the way for ten large transport aircrafts. Each one of the transports carried a squad of four Gressorial Unrestricted Neuro-linked Tactical Response UNITY Peacekeepers or GUNTRUPs in short. Only twelve meters high and twenty five tones maximum weight, GUNTRUPs had been referred to as 'poor man's mobile suits'. However, they were cheaper to produce and the roles that they were supposed to play weren't really suited for mobile suits in the first place.

One by one the transport planes began dropping the squads all over the place. As their parachutes deployed to reduce the landing speed, the mobile armour squadron continued providing air cover for them. The first squad finally touched down and took assault position.

Two 'riflemen' equipped with heat-resistant shields and semi-automatic beam rifles were at the front, the one carrying support beam machine gun in the middle and the final GUNTRUP armed with a high-yield long distance rifle was in the back. Together as one, they moved forward, attacking any opponent in their path. Behind them, the other squads followed suit. Their objective was simple: as the mobile armor squadron fought off against all mobile suits in the vicinity, the GUNTRUPs would launch a direct attack at the base itself.

Meanwhile, similar scenes were happening at all The Destined's bases all over the world.

Meanwhile, Dammerungsfee launched from a base hidden inside an asteroid. Its launch was then followed by the launch of two flights of highly customized GOUFs which then fell into formation behind it.

Inside the cockpit, the communication piece came to life and the base commander appeared on the screen. "Black Raven, your mission is to lead the counterattack on UNITY airborne force in Madagascar. Destroy all enemies, I repeat, destroy all enemies. For the Destiny Plan"

"**Would you make up your mind?" Kira **asked while grinning.

"Huh?" the man asked, clearly puzzled.

"**Would you prefer I lead the counterattack or destroy all enemies?" **

The compartments on the black mobile suit slid open, revealing six rocket propelled armor penetrators. It then braked, causing other six mobile suits to move past it.

"**I guess I will follow the second order. For destiny!"** Dammerungfee then launched the penetrators and all of them hit their targets. **"Targets destroyed!"**

The base commander was aghast. "Don't tell me that you…"

"**I what? I'm not acting according to the programming? Maybe it's because you gave a vague directive." **The black mobile slowly began changing color into white.

"You've broken through the conditioning… I see.

**Kira **put a hand over his face and then raised it to his head like one would do to open a visor. His image then disappeared, replaced by Fllay who was fully dressed in her flight suit.

The man frowned. "It's as I told Lord Hilbert; eventually you will regain your memory. How unfortunate it only last this long."

"I think you're mistaken in that respect. I recovered myself after I accidentally attacked a matrix containing a part of me few months back. Yes, even before I got Dammerungsfee."

The man gritted his teeth. "Then…"

"Oh, don't be mad at me. If I haven't recovered then, _Lord_ Hilbert wouldn't have found the ship in the first place. I was the one who told him." Dammerungsfee's beam rifle's barrel split to form a fork while simultaneously telescoping forward. The mobile suit then slowly raised its reconfigured weapon to aim at the base. "Oh well… I have to go now, you know. I'm really thankful and grateful for the care and 'motivational approach' that you used on me that anything I do wouldn't be enough to return the favor. But this will have to suffice."

It dawned on the commander what she meant. "But are you sure that you want to attack us? After all, we're the one who took you in even though you're supposed to die that day. UNITY… UNITY left you to die!"

"UNITY left me to die?"

"Don't forget! The hatred that formed the basis of your conditioning, it's all due to UNITY."

"You still haven't got it, it seems. The center of my hatred isn't UNITY and isn't Kira at all," she said while pressing the trigger. There were flickers of light before Dammerungsfee's rifle fully expended the energy it was storing in the shot it fired. The shot tore through the asteroid base and went through it. Upon seeing the look on the commander she smiled. "No, no, don't worry, it's not Lord Hilbert even though I doubt it that matters since UNITY will now launch a full scale attack on us."

"You… you're the one…" the line then went dead.

"Good bye." The mobile suit, whose color had returned back to normal, turned and left the slowly disintegrating base.

* * *

"_What was that feeling?" _Kira thought to himself as he glanced at a particular sot. _"It's as if there's something there that is pulling me to go there."_

Even without moving from its coordinate, Guardian used one of its beam sabers to deflect a beam shot from the rear.

_It seems that if I go there, I will have all my answers."_

The ZAKU pilot, as if angered by Kira's inaction, tried to cleave Guardian into two from behind.

In response, Guardian merely sidestepped and slashed its beam saber to its side. The sudden movement caused the ZAKU to fumble forward and got itself cut into two.

The explosion caused Kira to break out of his reverie. "I will end this," he said as he activated the high-output mode of his mobile suit. The white and blue mobile suit changed into black and dark blue color which was a contrast compared to its armor attachment which was white in color. Meanwhile, the armor reconfigured as panels slid open to reveal veneer boosters while the some part of the armors covered the joints, restricting limb movements but allowing for more agile flight speed that would have stressed the said limbs. The twin miniature ORION blasters that Guardian was carrying on its back repositioned themselves to face in front of it; meanwhile the system was changing from providing additional ionic propulsion to become high powered ion cannons. An additional optical system covered half of Guardian's main optic system, providing the additional systems required for the whole mode to work perfectly.

Kira then fired the twin ORION cannons which hit a Nazca carrier which was 30 kilometers away from his position. Even then he didn't stop and kept attacking the mobile suits that had been sent to attack him as the cannons were recharging. With Guardian in high output mode, its movement was almost as fast as Dammerungsfee even though it was equipped with heavier equipments. In fact, Terrence had once said that without equipments, Guardian could easily surpass the black mobile suit in speed by activating its high output mode. However, the converse was also true in that Dammerungsfee in its high output mode was more powerful than Guardian.

Because of that, his opponents had a small chance of winning when they started to engage him; with the high output mode activated, they had none.

Just as he finished dispatching the last mobile suit, a voice prompt told him that the charge was complete.

The second Nazca failed in its bid to get away.

With all of the hostiles in the area taken care of, Kira continue to gaze at the earlier spot. The feeling had disappeared, to his disappointment. It was a pity as it probably could yield a vital clue in regard to what caused his memory to be altered.

Even though Terrence and the others tried to downplay the problem as a side effect due to a system called ELEANA that he was testing, he knew that it wasn't true. Even though he remembered that he was with Lacus and their relationship was very loving, there was something wrong with the whole thing. For example, he remembered harboring a secret crush on the Clyne heiress when the two of them were studying in Heliopolis but that didn't tally with the fact that he had rescued her twice, one in a civilian rescue capsule ejected from the colony when it was destroyed by ZAFT and the other one when he recovered a survivor pod from a destroyed ZAFT unarmed vessel.

Also, the very passionate side of Lacus he saw when the two of them made love was in contrast with her tender side when the two of them made out.

Terrence had said that it was due to the weird dreams that he experienced which caused ELEANA to be taken offline. But then, if that was the case, where was this 'ELEANA' system. It couldn't have been dismantled just like that, he knew, as that would clash with Terrence tendency to keep odd things here and there. ELEANA, unlike the inventor's various broken designs, had simply vanished into thin air.

Kira let out a frustrated growl. There was no helping it; he would have to continue searching for the answer as deep down he knew that he would find it eventually.

Besides deep down, he knew that those 'dreams' he had, they weren't dreams about Lacus.

They were broken memories of someone else he had forgotten.

* * *

"Permission to speak freely, Captain!"

Stopping in his movement, Athrun turned toward the voice and sighed. "Dearka, if this is about your request to call Mir, the answer is still no. Even I'm not exempt from the ban." Lunamaria, who due date was almost up only knew that he was involved in testing a top-secret EMP weapon and thus was unable to contact her when the truth was even crueler and would have causes more unnecessary stress on her.

Dearka shut his mouth, proving that Athrun's prediction was on-the-spot. "Okay… how about another question? As far I know, this ship is supposed to be the flagship of UNITY." In case of a battle, the flagship would serve as a mobile command centre, just like Minerva played the same role in the second war.

"Yes."

"But the way you said during the briefing just now, it's as if we're being seconded to another ship."

"We are leading the strike."

"Officially for the record, of course. The truth?"

Against his judgment, Athrun decided to share some secret with his friend. "We're being seconded to UNCSS-01 Nemain, another UNITY ship. But even I don't know about who is in charge onboard that ship. During the battle, I'm to receive encrypted orders and then issue it to the rest of the fleet which will include Nemain."

"What the hell?"

"I'm making a guess but the one issuing the order is probably a battlefield commander. Maybe the one piloting the white UNITY prototype."

"Do you think that he's a Coordinator?" Coordinators were capable of multitasking, so it wouldn't be impossible for someone to come up with tactic and strategy at the same time but it would require one talented in order to be to do both and fighting against the enemy at the same time. However, Dearka's question had another meaning to it.

"I don't think it's _him _since I touched his body during the service. Besides, don't assume, because it makes an ass out of 'u' and…um…" he stopped.

"'Me?'" Dearka offered.

"Yes, you got it doubly right." Athrun said as he began to move away. "I have some matters to attend to. We'll continue this latter."

The blonde ace watched his friend leaving in silence until he realized what Athrun meant. Athrun had tricked him into saying 'me', meaning that he makes an ass out of himself twice.

"BASTARD!"

"Yeah, I know, but as a friend, I accept you as you are, you know," Athrun replied, not stopping.

Dearka grinned. After the battle, he would have a very big score to settle with the guy.

Meanwhile, while moving toward his destination, Athrun had a lot to think about. The task force would be staging the attack on what seemed to be the enemy's main force. Even then he was puzzled by the fact that that the location of the enemy's force has been identified as Lagrange Point 2. Although the location is stable enough, due to the fact that it is located behind the moon and thus away from the sun, a good source of power generation, no colonies have been built there. As for building a concealed military base, why bother when building the base on the dark side of the moon was a cheaper alternative yet offered a similar stealth protection?

However, the enemy had to set up some sort of a base at the location if the numbers being involved was an indication. But that caused more questions to pop up. It was technically unfeasible to build a base in such a remote area covertly in just a few weeks. The likely explanation was that the construction was there for a few months or even more than a year. That being the case, he wouldn't be wrong in making an assumption that the enemy was actually preparing for a full-scale warfare.

Lacus probably realized the same thing which is why UNITY is sending out a large number of ships and mobile suits to the place. For the first time immemorial, a war would be brought to the enemy before the enemy could even wage it and the fight would be very fierce.

At the moment, Athrun wished he could speak with his wife and tell her how much he loved her.

* * *

Shinn looked at the mobile armour in front of him with awe. "Erica… I can't believe that you managed to rebuild Skyknight in such a short time."

In response, his head was hit with a paper board the designer was holding. "Is that sarcasm I hear, or is it because you're dumb enough to notice the differences between Skyknight and the mobile armor that's a generation ahead?" She then turned toward Cagalli. "Why don't you say something, Lady Attha? After all, he's your boyfriend!"

Cagalli blushed and looked away. "Well, good work on the designing Skyblade?"

Erica stared at her before storming away. "Oh god, it's contagious! I better get away before I also contract it."

He looked at her departure. "I still say that it looks like Skyknight." Shinn then shifted his attention toward Cagalli and was about to say something when she beat him to it.

"Kira is still alive, isn't he?"

The pilot blinked his eyes. That was unexpected since he was planning to tell her despite Lacus telling him not to.

"Don't underestimate ORB's intelligence capability. We already found out the real truth on the attack on Temujin even though we prepared that fake report so finding out that he is still alive is a child's play."

"You knew that he was alive all along."

"Not after crying for two weeks. I found out that after his so-called death, UNITY's special ops suddenly have an ace pilot who have somewhat similar skills to Kira. The occurrence is too convenient to be a coincidence."

"I'll beat him up when I see him."

Cagalli laughed. "There's no need. He did it for a reason so I might as well respect that. But when he does appear, I think you'll have to hold me from stomping on his would-be carcass."

Shinn laughed nervously, wondering whether he would be subject to her wrath in the future. He found out first hand that she packed a mean punch.

They then quieted down, not knowing what to say next.

Eventually, Shinn was the one who broke the silence, looking down as he did. "I guess here is where I go off then." He then berated himself for saying something so lame. He was supposed to deliver a romantic line or two that girls like to hear, such as riding off to the sunset or how he would return to her arms.

After Lacus had revealed the truth regarding the whole unknown war that was currently going on, he found out that he couldn't remain on the sideline and had to play a part despite how small it was. Initially, he was surprised when Cagalli asked him to help UNITY with upcoming battle and even provided him with the means to do so.

"Thank you for your help," he added.

He felt two hands on his face, gently pulling him to look up.

The kiss was a chaste and brief but nevertheless electrified his whole being.

Cagalli broke the kiss but still had her hands on his face. "Itte rasshai," she said in perfect Japanese, smiling gently.

Even though the sentence was brief, between the two of them, it carried a lot of meaning, even more than could be expressed verbally, even more than 'I love you'. With a single proclamation, she had stated that and more, much more.

He broke into a gentle smile of his own and decided to respond in kind. "Aa. Itte kimass."

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (6 December 2009)**

1. One or two more chapters to go before the story concludes but before epilogue. Since it would be proper, I would update Fallen Angel with a **new **epilogue that will reflect on events that has been covered on Soaring Above so that SA could be considered as a true sequel. Yeah, I know, I have to apologize for making an untrue statement since I did mention that I will not be making a sequel after FA but that's the thing when we writer; sometimes things may not come up the same way. For example, I really planned to write The Rimane Test accident, with the bulk of the action happening on the actual testing day and Kira was supposed to 'die' at that day but to my surprise it didn't pan out that way. So, the new epilogue will address that as well as focus more on Kira and Fllay. Soaring Above's epilogue will focus more on Shinn and Cagalli. Not reading any one wouldn't affect the other but both epilogues will form a final conclusion. Nick, it seems that what I said to you about multiple epilogues last year will come true.

2. As it is, I believe I've tried my best to make SA readable without prior knowledge of FA. However, that said, reading SA would require the reader have an understanding that this is an alternate story to what happened in GSD.


	20. Singing in the field of silence

"Skyblade, launching," a CIC operator announced as the said mobile armor launched.

"There he goes, your boyfriend," Erica commented to Cagalli who was standing beside her inside the control room.

Cagalli hummed, not really paying attention to the comment as she was totally caught up in watching the launch displayed on the main monitor.

The door opened and Sven walked in.

"Well well well…. and here's your boyfriend's designated assassin."

"You knew," Sven said, surprised by the comment.

"Diplomatic immunity or not, there's no way we would have agreed to the request to have you join us without us knowing the reason. We let you simply because you're a UNITY undercover operative rather than a simple Confederation pilot," Cagalli responded, tearing her attention from the screen for the moment to look at Sven.

"So, you're alright with this?" Sven asked.

She shrugged before turning back to the screen. "I have to agree that in the first place, Shinn's joining ORB is a bit suspicious. But I think that they could have done better by sending someone less reckless."

"WARHAWK, launching. Preparing to synchronize with Skyblade," the CIC operator announced amidst the conversation. "Docking protocol initiated. Queuing the Synchronization Optimization protocol followed by Gravitational Escape protocol

* * *

Hilbert gazed at the holographic radar as it showed numerous triangles slowly moving toward the centre that represented where he was.

They were there.

A major UNITY fleet was there right in front of him, preparing to launch an attack on the 'Noah's Ark' that he was on. Even one of its special operation ships were there as well. He was quite disappointed with the so-called government of the Earth since it was promoting war instead of peace, as if he had predicted.

It would be up to him to show to the world how grotesque and unsightly their approach to peace was.

He had to admit, however, The Destineds wouldn't go into battle at its optimum condition. The base housing his best Kira emulator had failed to report in two hours ago so it wouldn't wrong to assume that it had been attacked by UNITY even though its location was hidden and difficult to locate. So, in the worst case scenario, the Kira emulator and other emulators would have been defeated and the base destroyed. So, any planning that Hilbert had to make would have to exclude them from the equation.

As for the 'Noah's Ark', when they discovered the shit, it was rather unarmed despite its rather large size. In fact, it probably served as a real Noah's Ark, an observer or even a colony ship The Observers used ages and ages ago. No, Hilbert corrected himself, not only the ship was unarmed, it was unequipped as well. The ship The Destineds found was a mere empty shell compared to whatever role it might have played. However, the works being done on the ship had changed that fact and soon it would be ready to serve as a viable platform of peace, the role that Gilbert's SALVATION was supposed to play in the second war but couldn't due to its destruction by Kira Yamato.

Then UNITY inconveniently decided to attack just as the ship was almost finished being fitted with its super barrier, the barrier that could even protect the ship from a GENESIS blast. However, Hilbert wasn't one to dwell on what could have been. If UNITY wanted to be destroyed at that particular time, he would politely oblige.

"Prepare our force to repel the enemy," he ordered. "At the end of this battle, I don't want anyone of them left alive."

* * *

"You're not going to tell him?" Sammy asked her boyfriend as Guardian was propelled out of the ship by the linear catapult.

"Well, let me get the script right first. Hmm… let's see… Kira, actually you don't have memory loss and those weird things that you remember? Well, actually those memories are about a girl whom I think you love enough to join such a thankless and low-paying job like the one you're holding right now but I'm not sure because you never tell me. And that girl whose face you can't remember? Well, she's the one. She was connected to ELEANA and used it to alter your memory so that you couldn't remember her due to reasons we would never find out unless we get hold of her. To make things look beautiful, I'm to tell you that right now, she' probably preparing to kill you know but we don't know whether she's going to kill you because she hates your mug for dumping her or she was being brainwashed to think that she hates you even though she might hates you even before being brainwashed or in fact she loves you. So try to capture her without any harm on her part even though she'll probably do her best to kill you so that we can find out the truth regarding the whole thing." He shrugged. "Do I cover all bases?"

Sammy gaped throughout the explanation. "Wow… that's very complex way of putting it."

"Isn't it?"

"Wait… did you say that Fllay was brainwashed? I don't get it…" she raised her eyes in surprise, "Are you saying that Fllay is working for the enemy?"

"Dammerungsfee have a gyroscopic cockpit to redirect the g-forces created by extreme maneuvers so that they would disperse equally in all directions. However, this requires some getting used to. Even Kira had to spend a week to master the control. But lo and behold! We have someone waltzing in to steal the thing and got away after fighting Kira to a stop."

"But it could be anyone who had enough training."

"Yeah, that certain someone happens to how I like to create my secret weapon compartments and the same person who managed to gain partial control of ELEANA which would only listen to Kira and user it was based on."

"If what you said is true, then the attack on our base…"

"I can't say comment anything because I will sound biased, but..."

"But?"

"If she's really the one behind the attack then her standard had suffered…"

The siren went off as a voice announced. "ATTENTION! ALL HANDS ON DECK. NEMAIN WILL RECONFIGURE INTO BOMBARDIER MODE IN TWO MINUTES. PLEASE CLEAR OUT OF ALL DESIGNATED RED ZONE AREAS. I REPEAT…"

Sammy turned toward her boyfriend, dumbstruck.

Terrence shrugged. "Since only two people can make that call, I think Kira's the one."

"But… as a bombardier?!"

"Probably because he expected the enemy's base to be protected by giant lightwave barrier. Come, let leave the hangar. There's not going to be any more mobile suit launching anyway and we should help from the bridge. Once the reconfiguration is underway, we can't leave until the whole ship returned to normal. "

They moved away from the hangar, just in time as a solid door closed behind them. Despite the lack of gravity on the ship, Sammy could feel the ship's trembling. Nemain's bow and port side were being rotated so that the twin ORION thrusters on each side would shift to the front of the ship. Then, the thrusters would slide away from their positions to form a giant 'X'. Sammy blinked her eyes when the announcement was being made that the completion had been completed. When they did the drills, the whole reconfiguration would normally take five minutes but at that time, it wasn't even three minutes yet.

"One minutes and fifty nine seconds, that's the fastest time to fully reconfigure in zero-G." Terrence said, as if knowing what she was thinking about. "But today's around two minutes and forty seconds, I think. Pretty sloppy. It's a good thing we're away from the battlefield or else the enemy would have fun blasting us to kingdom come."

"Well, if we're to be in frontline, Kira probably would ask for Nemain to be redeployed in Enforcer mode."

Terrence stopped in front of a door and entered some commands. "Yeah, the 'Dendrobium Orchis' mode Wilhelm like to call so much. Even until today I still don't get it why he was so adamant on calling Guardian as 'Stamen'. If he suggested 'Morphnus guianensis' or 'Deinonychus Velociraptorinae' I would have understood but an orchid?"

"I wonder about that as well."

"Anyway, I don't think Kira would feel comfortable bringing Nemain into battle just like that, even though this ship would be functioning as mobile armour."

The door opened and the two of them entered into the bridge.

"Good timing," Enishi said from his seat. "I've just been informed by Commander Yamato that we're to conduct full scale ionic bombardment in ten minutes's time. Emission would 90-90."

"What the hell?" Terrence remarked, bewildered. "That would leave this ship stranded until we can gather enough ions from our surrounding. Plus, we don't know what will happen to the engine."

"Just do it."

Terrence grunted in annoyance."

* * *

Dearka nodded at his friend's face on the cockpit's screen. "Don't worry. I'll take care of the small fries."

"Their platoon leader wouldn't like you making such a comment."

"They're small, and pretty much fucked up, so I don't see the issue here." The mobile suits under his command would be running diversionary attacks at their target to pave way for carriers ferrying a platoon of fifty FRYs or 'Fucked-up 'Ren't You?', the irreverent reference to GUNTRUPs due to their small size. Once the platoon managed to land successfully, they would seek out the base's weakpoints, plant demolition charges and then escape.

Dearka couldn't understand the reason in having those midgets, or mobile suits wannabes carrying out a mission that should be carried out by mobile suits. In response, Athrun explained that UNITY didn't really have that many mobile suits with the current battles being fought on Earth as well. Hence GUNTRUPs equipped with space packs had to be utilized although the initial insertion was to be conducted using carriers in order to minimize power usage by the GUNTRUPs; the power would be urgently required during actual mission and to escape.

UNITY could have asked for reinforcements from ZAFT, Confederation and other nations but doing so would contradict its mission which was to unite all countries. As such, requesting for aide would cause it to owe those nations which in turn would use their clouts to interfere with its mission. While it was happening at the time, it wasn't as widespread as all nations were wary of being accused of trying to hijack UNITY; having them contribute a lot of military power would legitimize that action. Apart from that, if UNITY emerged unscathed from the conflict while not relying on any assistance, its influence would grow even more since it would be seen as the one defeating the enemy that had dealt a serious blow to ZAFT and Confederation.

On the strategic and tactical basis, amassing and then coordinating such a large force would be quite difficult.

Hence, the current situation where only UNITY was involved in the current battle, a situation that Dearka didn't like, along with his pet peeves, 'midget marines'

"I don't see why they might have any reason to complain seeing that their mission is pretty much fucked-up in the first place."

"Dearka…"

"Fine. I apologize. After all, the pilots are quite FUN to be with."

"Calling them fucked up newbies is just as unflattering."

"Spoil sport. Hey, regardless of how I don't like those midgets, I'm a professional. I'll do my best to cover them but I reserve to right to insult them."

Athrun looked away for few seconds. "Prepare to move after the signal."

"What signal?"

There was a very bright flash as the special operation ship attached with the fleet for the battle opened fire with its four cannons.

"Oh, that signal."

Dearka's laid-back expression was gone, replaced with a mask of seriousness. "Okay, listen up, people," he called out his team. "Once the bombardment ends, be prepared for enemy's counterattack." He glanced at the carriers that would carry GUNTRUPs; they're quite far enough from the main line. "We're to make sure the," he paused for a moment to find a less demeaning word, "grunts arrive to their targets alive and kicking."

The radio chirped with acknowledgments from his team.

Meanwhile, inside Guardian, Kira tried to maintain calm as he watched the ORION guns trying to pierce a large hole through the enemy's fortress. When in thruster mode, the four units allowed Nemain to achieve escape velocity at half military power without requiring any space boosters at all. However in gun mode, each gun was capable of delivering highly concentrated and energized ions that has enough destructive force of at least three Tanhausser-class positron cannons. However, firing at maximum power so would exhaust the ship out of its energy and propulsion ions and it wouldn't be able to move for few hours, unlike Archangel and Minerva which could fight even after firing their respective positron cannons.

But as long as it would damage the shield, it would be enough.

The blast continued for thirty seconds before the ORIONs began to power down. To his horror, Kira could see that the barrier was still intact even though there was some damage on it. A little more should be enough to overstress the barrier. However, none of the other UNITY ships had weapons that had the same firepower. Reluctantly, Kira came to the decision to fire his own ORION cannons even though that would deplete Guardian's power; even then there was no guarantee that it would work. He had to try it.

Another albeit smaller hit the same spot on the barrier. The latter seemed to hold up against it but then capitulated and dispersed. Despite its energy mostly expended in overwhelming the barrier, the shot still hit the port of the ship and caused some damages.

"All ship! Evasive maneuver!" Kira shot off a command as the enemy ship's bow segment opened to reveal seven positron cannons nested together inside it. In his haste, he had forgotten to take note that the shot wasn't fired from Guardian.

It was within his prediction; their enemy wouldn't use weapon such as GENESIS or other energy-sapping weapons due to tactical consideration. Such weapons would really be effective if they were truly unexpected, like in a preemptive strike. In the case of GENESIS, if the Alliance had known such weapons existed in the first war, its tactical planners could easily come out with a strategy to deal with it; the converse was also true in the case of LOGOS utilized its Requiem to cause massive destruction to ZAFT.

Their enemy had learned that lesson well and instead fielded smaller weapons were more useful tactically. From what he could see, the enemy ship would probably charge its positron canons while its barrier rendered it invulnerable from enemy attacks. Once the charging had been completed, it would deploy them and drop the barrier for few seconds to allow it to fire the cannons before reactivating the barrier again. Any mobile suits that got inside the range would be cut off from the rest by the barrier and would be defeated by the ship's defensive mechanism.

The tactic would have rendered the ship invincible, which was the good thing UNITY took the first offensive. With the barrier down, the playing level has been leveled.

Meanwhile, as instructed, all UNITY ships began taking evasive maneuver but when the cannons fired, one of them still managed to find a mark, an unfortunate cruiser that exploded into nothingness in the barest second.

Mobile suits began deploying from both sides in what would be very intense but yet silent battle.

Kira was about to assist a nearby battlecruiser when a sublime feeling flashed inside him and Guardian moved a bit, causing three shots, each from a different vector, to miss him completely. A metallic chirp caught his attention. The sound's 3D positional origin caused him to look in the direction of its perceived origin; a spot to above and a little to the right. Guardian's full uniview display showed a mobile suit was slowly appearing as its Mirage Colloid cloaking disrupted by the shot it fired. There were two more chirps and Kira glanced at the two other mobile suits that tried to ambush him.

The fully upgraded display that Guardian's cockpit utilized was far superior than panoramic displays found on some prototypes; it even surpassed Fallen and Dammerungsfee's uniview display. Unlike the solution from both mobile suits that used helmet mounted display to provide all-round view of the mobile suit, the image was displayed by the inner side of Guardian's cockpit. That approach allowed the pilot to quickly look at a position by moving his eyes rather than moving his head. The only disadvantage was that the cockpit couldn't be fully gyrated, preventing Guardian from performing extreme g-maneuvers its frame was capable of. But that didn't really matter as Guardian was designed for multiple engagements which the system fully augmented.

His left hand pulled the joystick it was holding while exerting a bit of pressure upward and his right hand pushed the other while pressing downward; Guardian turn to fully face the first mobile suit which had fully materialized from its cloaking. The mobile suit resembled what seemed to be a highly agile mobile with five Super DRAGOONs attached to its rear pack. Kira wasn't totally sure but from the description provided by UNITY's informer, the mobile suit was codenamed Dooben Wolf, a purported successor to ZAKU and GOUF but wasn't finished in time for the second war.

"ELEANA, could you take care of the DRAGOONs?"

Something was not right. Why did he call out for the system? Didn't the system dismantled after the test that caused him to lose his memory? Then why did he act as if he had been fighting together?

He didn't have time to ponder as the mobile suit launched its DRAGOONs, followed by the other two. The trio quickly proved themselves to be dangerous adversaries as the pilots skillfully maneuvered their DRAGOONs in coordinated attacks. As Guardian swerved to evade two beam shots, Kira couldn't help but be alarmed. Their mobile suits were probably equipped with the Neu-Commu system that had been referenced in the report by Sleipneir.

Guardian keep evading and evading while Kira muttered a small grunt of annoyance. It was as if he was fighting against Creuset in the first war and Rey Za Burrel in the second war.

'_Wait'_, he thought. Something was wrong with his memory, he realized. Meanwhile, Guardian raised its right hand to block a shot from the right. Terrence told him that ELEANA caused his memory to be erased but it seemed that he didn't remember what happened even in the previous two wars that caused him to be so angry toward his antagonists. No. That was not right. His mind was being messed up again. He did remember but what he remembered was a total fabrication. He was enraged when Creuset shot Lacus's shuttle, killing her instantly.

If Lacus was onboard the shuttle and died, how could he remembered meeting her on Eternal after the battle where she was supposed to die ended?

All the while Kira was undergoing mental and emotional turmoil Guardian kept evading and counterattacking his enemies. One of the shots he fired almost struck a Super DRAGOON unit.

In the second war, he had fought off against Rey Za Burrel, a clone of Creuset who revealed that he was created specifically to kill Kira. When Ulen Hibiki experimented to create a so-called Ultimate Coordinator, there were some parties that became concerned and wanted to stop it at all costs. As a result of that Rey was born and was gifted with even superior abilities and talents in order to kill the Ultimate Coordinator but had his own genes altered so that he wouldn't live a long live. But Rey didn't care about his creators' ambition and instead wanted to stop war although the way he was going to achieve that was truly twisted.

Kira remembered that he was being angry with Rey for being an indirect cause of Lacus's death. Lacus, in her bid to stop a ZAFT's super fortress had crashed her mobile suit into it and then detonated the mobile suit's nuclear reactor.

He was quite certain that Lacus have never piloted a military-grade mobile suit; ride in one, yes but never piloted such mobile suit.

That didn't even start to explain why Lacus died twice but yet still managed to be alive even until that day.

Guardian fired its blasters and this time the shot hit one of the remote-controlled units. That was a start. However, he still had seventeen more enemies to defeat. Then perhaps he can investigate the spot his instinct was telling him to go to.

* * *

It was time. The battle had been progressing and from the situation it was quite difficult to predict who would prevail. However, that suited her just fine. She would enter the battlefield and then put into motion her plan that have been prepared for a very long time. The battle would end and it would be due to her action; something that UNITY, The Destineds, Gilbert and even Rey Za Burrel had failed to do.

She would lead the way, she would be the one to bring peace to Earthsphere.

But before that, she had to take care of something else. Fllay switched on the communication channel, setting it to broadcast through open channel. "How long are you going to stand behind me, newcomer?" she directed her question toward a mobile suit that was standing few meters behind. When the screen came to life, she raised her eyebrows. "I should have known from the design that ORB or rather Cagalli couldn't keep standing on the sideline since Kira is fighting. To be honest, I never thought that the two of you would hit it off, Shinn."

"Well, neither did we," Shin replied. "But I'm not here to fight Kira's battle, Fllay."

"Ah, revenge." Dammerungsfee slowly turned toward the mobile suit. She examined the mobile suit. The main frame resembled the mobile suit she had incapacitated during the battle in ORB water but she doubted that it was the same mobile suit. It was probably an upgraded version of what her would-be opponent had used. The full body armour resembled ZAFT's Assault Shroud but from what she could make out of it, the protection was detachable; the additional boosters on the armor led her to conclude that the shroud was actually a mobile armour that had merged with the mobile suit. _'Interesting.' _"So you here because you want revenge for the attack on Temujin?"

"No. Not revenge. I'm simply here to stop you."

"Stop me? Do you know what you're babbling about?"

Shinn nodded.

"If that's the case, then why didn't you attack me just now, when I wasn't moving?"

"It wouldn't be fair," Shinn replied, wasn't truly honest with the answer. He had saw Dammerungsfee fired off a massive blast to the distance and had understood why the mobile suit changed color when firing; it had white Phase Shift armour when it engaged its high output mode rather than the normal gunmetal black color scheme. He also knew knew that the mobile suit was nuclear-powered so even though it had exhausted a lot of energy in firing that shot, it should have enough to put up a fight at least until its energy level rise to the nominal level. Hence, trying a cheap shot was probably risky as it was expected. In fact, Allster probably faked Dammerungsfee's state in order to goad him to attack. However, he was truthful in one aspect. "I want to challenge you to a one on one fight."

Fllay didn't respond for a few seconds. "Isn't this is a foolish way to avenge Murdoch?"

Skyblade reached for the beam sabers stored on its WARHAWK armour. "I told you earlier, this is not to avenge Murdoch. You may laugh at me for something stupid like this but remember the girl who piloted Destroy in Berlin two years ago?"

"Stellar."

"Stellar appeared in my dream after I've been defeated by you few days ago and requested that I put you out of your misery."

Lacus had asked for his help to stop Fllay because apart from Kira and Athrun, he had to greatest potential to do so. The Clyne heiress had made it clear that the former Fallen pilot had to be stopped even if that meant her death because if she wasn't stopped, she would cause something catastrophic to happen. Lacus wasn't sure what it was but believed that it may involve the ship the pro-Gilbert faction or The Destineds found.

Cagalli initially had difficulty believing that Fllay was involved in the whole matter. Despite the redhead's glaring flaws, Cagalli would like to believe that the woman genuinely loved her brother and wouldn't do anything to would cause his life to be in jeopardy. Then Lacus revealed that Fllay was probably captured and then brainwashed by The Destineds. While she had broken through the programming, the problem was the conditioning had caused her to be mentally instable.

Shinn had given a non-committal answer as he wasn't sure that he could do what was asked from him. But later that night, he was visited by Stellar in his dream who requested that he stop Fllay from carrying out her plan. And there he was, facing off with someone who had defeated him easily barely two weeks before. All in all, he was probably crazier than the person that he was going to fight.

"You're here just because you had a dream?"

"Lacus believes that you're probably going to do something with the ship, probably crash the ship to the earth or something. However, Stellar told me that you're going to something more heinous and I believed here. Like you once said when we fought in ORB, I'm here because I believe in what I'm fighting for; the same with you."

"Very well." Dammerungsfee ejected all its extensions, leaving it with its Tombak Shakti beam rifle and its anti-ship beam sword.

"Hey, you don't have to do that!" Shinn cried.

"Please don't misunderstand. I'm not giving you any advantage at all. I wouldn't do anything that insulting. The reason why I'm doing this is increase my mobile suit's mobility and…"

Shinn raised Skyblade's beam saber just in time to block the slashed aimed to cleave its body into two. '_Damn! That was fast I barely react to it!' _he cursed mentally. _'Is this the power of a mobile suit a generation ahead? I thought Skyknight was defeated it was due to the mobile suit simply sucks in comparison with hers.' _

Skyblade and Dammerungsfee's blades met again and again as sparks flew.

'_No. There's a difference between both mobile suit's performance. At least now I'm being suppressed instead of being fully oppressed,' _he thought grimly to himself. _'Also, there's something not right with the situation here but I couldn't put my finger on it.'_

"To show my respect to your determination, Shinn Asuka, I will kill you."

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (26 December 2009)**

1. This chapter is a bit hard. I finally decided not to wrap everything up in this chapter, at the cost of pushing the deadline into January. I can confirm that it will be another chapter which would involve the explanation on why certain things happened as well as conclude everything.

2. If you look at it this way, Soaring Above is a bit like Zeta Gundam (just a tiny little bit) where Shinn is the main protagonist like Kamille Bidan whereas Kira played another important role (but less focussed) just like Amuro Rey. Maybe, just maybe, that's what Gundam Seed Destiny is supposed to be. You know, Shinn kicked everyone's ass as part of ZAFT, and then he fought with Kira who played another role (but just as important) and then joined up with Athrun (and Kira, making peace with him), become part of peace loving TERMINAL and then kicked everyone's ass (except Kira and Athrun). But since that didn't happened (and what a screw up that was), I figured why not make Shinn the main protagonist in Soaring Above. Well, writing Fllay as the antagonist is somewhat unplanned for me (yet Murdoch's death is) but I'll stick with it.


	21. Soaring Above

Few of the GUNTRUP soldiers or 'Fucked Up Newbies' as they were irreverently called sometimes got into the fight over the insults threw at them by the MS 'flyboys' but the majority of them didn't care or at the very least appear to not care. After all, their commander had succinctly put it in her pep talk before the operation, 'Many of the flyboys compensate their lack of skills and techniques with size'. That joke got all of them in stitches. Sexual innuendo of the remark aside, that remark was a rather accurate description. Few aces aside, many mobile suit pilots couldn't coordinate their attacks well and instead independently as well as efficiently attacking designated targets.

That was where the GUNTRUPs doctrine differed by emphasizing tight squad-based integration. Also, it was the doctrine that caused them to move out of the shuttles they were on in fast but orderly manner even though explosions were all around them.

Even though they had lost one of the shuttles due to the CIWS installed on the enemy carrier, most of the attacking platoons had landed on it safely and couldn't be reached by the ship's weapons.

"Listen up, people." their platoon commander said, her voice muffled up a bit by the breathing apparatus. Unlike the respiratory system in a mobile suit, GUNTRUP's breathing apparatus consists of small detachable oxygen tanks that were placed near the cockpit seat and connected to the GUNTRUP's soldier's flight suit directly. This allowed weigh reduction in certain operation as well as allowing the operator to equip himself with one of the tanks for certain operation where he would be required to work in extreme atmosphere. "My squad will lead the diversionary attack, whereas Squad Two will provide support fire. Squad Three and Four will lay the charges. Understand?"

The respective squad leaders acknowledged the order. Even in each squad, there would be smaller fire teams acting independently but yet synchronized with others.

"JACKHAMMERS!" the platoon commander called out as the first flight of hostile mobile suits appeared to engage them. The fire teams quickly took cover and fired at the mobile suits as the GUNTRUPs equipped with the said anti-mobile suit weapons prepared to fire them. After getting the lock-ons, the Jackhammers were launched toward the mobile suits. The missile-based weapons were truly fire and forget weapons, allowing the operators to move on after firing them. While basically useless against mobile suit equipped with Phase Shift armor and mobile suits piloted by aces skilled enough to shoot the weapon, those counterarguments were really moot points because only aces would pilot mobile suits equipped with Phase Shift armor and the chance of surviving the clash against them were quite minimal regardless of what weapons were used.

The missiles hit almost all of the targets except one but that was taken care by a well-aimed shot from a beam sniper rifle.

"All right, prepare to…" the platoon commander trailed in giving her command as more enemy mobile suits appeared. "Dug in, quick!"

In one of the fire teams of Squad Two, an ensign complained even as he fired a shot, "Looks like we're really FRYs."

"Shush," the team's NCO hissed. "If the Lieutenant finds out about your blasphemous words, she would really screw you and then hang you out to dry."

"She can do me if she wants," the fire support soldier, a woman, joked. "Even sideways."

"Make sure you let all of us watch," the sniper remarked as he aimed at one of the nearby mobile suits.

"Twenty for admission,"

"Let me join and I'll make it a hundred," the NCO said, a stark contrast with his statement few seconds prior.

The team members continually joked even as their enemies descended upon them; it was best to laugh in the face of the danger since it would be pointless to be solemn and morose if they were going to die.

* * *

"I'm wondering, Shinn," Fllay asked in a calm manner, a contradiction with the way her mobile suit was keeping constant pressure on his, "Since you don't want revenge, why are you risking your live here? If you joined the attack, it would have been more productive. Perhaps we wouldn't even meet in the battle."

The energy fluctuations caused by their melee weapons clashing was distractingly bright enough that Shinn almost missed the other hand that was trying to stab Skyblade using an armour penetrator. _'What the hell is she talking about? That doesn't make sense. Since she's going to pull off something major, there's no way we wouldn't meet in the battle even if I went there. Also, why am I barely keeping up with her in the current SEED mode? Last time I checked, she decked Skyknight so fast that I don't even know it happened until it started crashing.' _"I told you that I'm going to stop you."

"Is that so…" Dammerungsfee faked an attack by pretending to aim for Skyblade's leg but when Shinn fell for the ruse, it tried to stab the torso section.

The other mobile suit countered by firing its CIWS at the black mobile suit's main optic. Why the Phase Shift armor protected it from any lasting damage, that attack gave Shinn the precious moments to back away. He was tempted to try and slash his way through but didn't dare because Dammerungsfee had various secondary sensors that attacking at the moment was a big risk that he didn't want to take.

As if knowing what the other was thinking, both pilots stopped attacking and let their mobile suits floated.

"In all honesty, I'm going to feel a bit guilty killing you. Cagalli had taken a liking to you," Fllay said.

"Hah. I'm the one who will feel troubled at having to explain to Kira why I killed you." It was a straight face bullshitting as he wasn't even sure whether he had the chance to do that in the first place, he thought rather darkly. Even though Lacus had provided a lot of information on Dammerungsfee including its weak points, he found them to be quite useless. For example, the black mobile suit Phase Shift armor strength was only comparable to Strike 'Classic'. Hence, in theory it could be damaged quite easily with improved projectile-based weapons. However, that knowledge is simply moot if he couldn't even get a lock with his targeting computer.

Apart from that, the increasingly annoying mobile suit displayed some rather unfair abilities. When Shinn managed to sidestep from one of its thrusting attack and it overshot, he was about to sigh in relief as it had to turn around in a big circle in order to attack him again. That assumption almost cost him his life when Dammerungsfee simply braked few meter away, turned around on its axis and slashed. It was a good thing Skyblade held its beam sabers in a defensive manner and Shinn blocked the attack. Shinn was confident that he could probably replicate the move if not for the fact that he would be turned into an instant hamburger patty due to the resulting impulse force caused by the maneuver.

That doesn't take into account about the high output mode that has yet to be activated, along with Fllay's ability to turn 'red eyes'. Shinn chuckled ironically. All in all, a favorable odd of winning, for his opponent that is. He decided that he had to end the fight as soon as possible. Activating his SEED mode, Skyblade took the initiative to attack this time. Dammerungsfee fired of its beam rifle but Shinn deftly maneuvered closer and closer.

Just as he was within range, he attacked with the beam saber in the left hand while the other prepared to block any attack. It was just as well since he missed due Dammerungsfee sidestepping. At the same time, the black mobile suit began the motion of turning its body in order to maximize the strength in its slash.

Shinn raised the other beam saber and as soon as the two swords met, Shinn fired the thrusters to move away. The resulting move caused Dammerungsfee to 'stumble' and Shinn would have taken the initiative to attack if not for it turning and delivered a hammer kick on Skyblade's shoulder. Instinctively, Shinn used the resulting impact to cause Skyblade to turn and deliver its own hammer kick, managing to hit Dammerungsfee instead.

In response, Dammerungsfee kicked Skyblade away.

"Not bad," Fllay complimented. "You almost damaged the main optics."

Shinn took the time to adjust his helmet that became slightly out of place when the cockpit was jarred by kicks. The kick really shook to the bone but the other pilot sounded as if she wasn't affected. Damn. He should have given in to his hormones and kissed Cagalli silly before he left. At least he would have been contented in the fight.

But at last he saw the chance of winning the fight.

* * *

Athrun subtly turned away from the sight of one of the ships under his command capitulating after being subjected to intense enemy fire. He personally knew the captain of the ship as they had meet at a gynecologist clinic where he took Lunamaria to have her periodical checkup. The bubbly and cheerful man was really looking forward to seeing his second child which would be born in three months time. However fate had decreed otherwise. Athrun hated, really hated the fact that he would be the person to deliver the bad news to the captain's wife. Sure, he could always take the coward's way and asked someone else to deliver the news but it wouldn't be fair to the wife and himself.

The responsibility as a captain was even heavier than he had expected.

While he had written reports for Rusty and Nicol's deaths in the first war and for the Minerva wing in the short stint he joined ZAFT in the second war, the feeling was different. He wasn't making light of their deaths but writing about a person isn't as hard as writing a report about a ship's destruction. If he couldn't describe enough about the pilots under his command, then words couldn't even describe the tragedy where a ship full of men and women lives was obliterated just like that.

"We have scored another hit on one of the mother ship's escorts in vector X1200-Y730-Z6220," the CIC operator announced.

"Good. Keep up the attack," he said.

Yet, he guiltily felt a small sense of satisfaction in dealing out the punishment to The Destined's Nazca carrier. Even if it was an enemy vessel, it was rather wrong of him to feel such vindication as the ship also had people on board, people who despite their allegiance had their own dreams and ambitions. Unfortunately, all of those dreams would be extinguished under his order.

"No offer to surrender from any of those ships?" Athrun asked suddenly.

"No sir."

Sometimes he wondered why he entered military despite being too soft. But then he would remembered the face of his wife and mother to their soon-to-be-born daughter as well as what happened to his father and mother in first war.

"Then keep pushing until they stop or surrender. And tell those GUNTRUPs to hurry up with their mission to destroy the generators. We can't wait until Nemain recharges."

The Special Operation ship was basically knocked out of the commission, leaving Athrun in command of the whole operation. While short communiqué with the ship indicated that the ship didn't suffer any damage from firing its ORION guns, it was running on emergency power supply as of the moment until it could generate enough power to be operational. As such, the ship had to move out of the battle.

With Nemain's inability to fire again for at least another hour, Athrun had his work cut out for him. The enemy ship's barrier came back online in the middle of the fight, trapping the assault force inside it. Because of that he had changed the order for the assault team to target barrier generators to enable the fleet to attack the ship head on.

At that time it was a race against time and he hoped that the team would be successful before the whole fleet was wiped out. His eye felled on one of screens showing Guardian fighting against many opponents at the same time. Maybe what Dearka said was true: Kira was the mobile suit's pilot. If so, he hoped that his friend would succeed.

* * *

Dearka cursed as a wreckage of his wingman's mobile suit floated by him. "Damn! Aren't those midgets done yet?" he tersely said over the communication network.

"The GUNTRUPs are facing heavy resistance at the bombing site," his _new _second-in-command replied. "They're requesting for space cover."

The blonde clucked his tongue while pressing the trigger button. The shot would have hit his target but it managed to evade. "Cover? We're not exactly running a space sightseeing tour here and the whole area isn't really saturated with enemy mobile suits..."

"Yes, but…"

"I know," Dearka stated, cutting the person off, "Just making a point. I'm putting you in charge of maintaining space superiority here so that extraction can be executed in this corridor. I'll go and scare the baddies away from those midgets."

"Yes sir."

Dearka's GOUF engaged his thrusters toward the coordinated where the GUNTRUPs were holed up. Upon arrival he couldn't help but whistle at the amount of enemies those retarded mobile suits wannabes facing. The mission planner had grossly underestimated The Destined's mobile suits arsenal. The midgets were facing around thirty ZAKUs, even though it was predicted that The Destineds would send most of their mobile suits to engage other mobile suits. Dearka made a note to find the armchair mission planner after the battle and throw that person out of an airlock. "You're really FUNs after all," he said as he slashed a mobile suit that was the closest to his. "Where's Lieutenant Yzyva?"

"Skipper bought the farm," someone replied.

"And you are?"

"Sergeant Bowler. Currently leading the outfit."

"Progress?"

"Halfway done but we have to plant another three charges. Squad Three didn't manage to set them."

"Well?"

"With all due respect _sir_," the statement was said in the way that was anything but respect, "we're _very happy_ to give them targets to shoot at but that wouldn't solve the problem."

"What would solve the problem?" Dearka said as he eyed two more ZAKUs coming his way.

"I don't know sir, I'm just a grunt. But maybe if you can draw the fire from say, half of them, we can make a run for it?"

"Heh," Dearka smirked. "Only half? That's an insult… to them." While he could engage around five or even seven mobile suits simultaneously, facing fifteen mobile suits would require special mobile suits such Strike Freedom or Legend as well as the special pilots to go with them. However, that said, Dearka was also special but in another aspect: he had very high luck. "Very well, _grunt. _I'll draw them away from you. Just remember that after the battle, 'Lucky Champ' Dearka would accept everyone's kowtows."

"Hell sir, we'll even buy you drinks for a month so that you can kill yourself by alcohol poisoning."

"You're on," Dearka said as he dove right into the thick of the battle

* * *

"Join the space army, they said," a Support GUNTRUP soldier complained as his machine began moving toward the designated objective. "Literally see the world, they said. The pay a bit small but the romantic experience will last you for the life time." He scoffed as his unit picked up an explosive device floating nearby; the fire team that was supposed to set it had been destroyed. "I should have stayed on as an assistant physics professor in the University of Budapest but no, I have to be stupid to join the ragtag outfit with meager salary. Even chimpanzees gets more than what I have..."

"Shut up, egghead and keep doing your work," the other member of the team admonished the man. "Set the charges while I kept you safe."

"How reassuring," the former said, "since you're no Audie Murphy."

"Who the hell is that?"

"Shit! You're from Atlantic and you don't know? Audie Leon Murphy is the most decorated soldier… you know what? Just forget what I was going to say and just concentrate on covering me while I set up the charges. Maybe after this is over I'll give you some medal or something." The man decided that it was stupid of him to even try telling his moron of a team member that Audie Leon Murphie was one of the most decorated soldiers in before Cosmic Era.

"Oh… okay,"

"Stupid Atlantican," the man muttered as his GUNTRUP began setting up the explosive device it was carrying on the intended spot. A press of the button and the machine began boring into the ship in order to deliver its deadly payload. "Keep it clear for twenty seconds and it's done."

"Easy for you to say!" his team member said his own GUNTRUP was facing a menacing ZAKU armed with a battle axe.

A shot pierced through the ZAKU before it could do anything, destroying it.

"Wha?"

The demolition expert looked at the originating point where the shot came from and recognized the white mobile suit. Even though it was still fighting against its own opponents, it could still fire a shot to save his team member. "I hope that the pilot didn't come from Atlantic. It would have been a waste because a moron like you would never appreciate such a person," he chided his team member.

* * *

"All charges have been set up."

"Good," Athrun said as explosions began appearing all over The Destined's ship and the barrier began to falter. Then, just like a fragile bubble soap, the barrier burst for the second time, this time it wouldn't be activated again. "Tell all mobile suits and GUNTRUPs to fall back. I want all batteries to be aimed at that ship."

* * *

Hilbert stood calmly amidst the panic in the background, with everyone else scurrying to handle the crisis that they were in. Reports were pouring in but he didn't need to read all of them to know that the ship would eventually be destroyed.

Peace would not reign.

It was saddening, he mused, of how humanity always giving lip service to peace, saying that it was what they really wanted. But yet, when given the chance, a real tangible chance of finally having peace they would turn away from it, saying needless things such as personal liberty.

What was wrong with guided liberty? It wasn't as if humanity would really be curtailed its freedom. All what it would do was create a society whereby ones genetic traits would be used to determine where the person would work. Society would be bereft of conflict as the work assignment would be a fair one and no one would be left behind. No one would only work for his own good but rather work to better the whole humankind.

In such a world, a conflict would be the thing of a past because everything would be determined purely on genetics, the coda of the individual. There would be no such thing as political influence or manipulation and no power through dishonest means. Those were the fuel of wars and when they were removed, there would be no wars.

United Nations Integration Treaty was also going the same path of The Destineds, trying to foster unity throughout the Earthsphere but the way it was doing could be considered as half-cooked. No, calling it as half-cooked was an insult to the saying. UNITY was trying to patch a big problem with nothing more than a single band-aid.

That was why he approached Lacus Clyne, proposing the real solution to the problem. However, to his disappointment, the immature leader of UNITY turned down the suggestion, telling him that there was no way everyone would accept such a solution.

That argument to him was flawed because such resistance was to be expected and quelled. After all, there was no way those crooked fiends in power would just give up their thrones even if such an action would be to the good of humankind. They had too much to lose; the only way was to force them to give up those powers. As for the mass, of course they would feel apprehension towards something that didn't know as it was within their nature. But that didn't mean that they weren't willing to accept the Destiny Plan. The best way to allay their fears was to show them the beauty of it, by executing the plan and then let them be the judge.

Yet, Lacus turned him down just like that.

"Sir," one of his adjutants called out as the whole place shook due to shelling. "We must evacuate the ship."

He didn't move from his spot but instead raised hand.

"Sir?"

"Just let me be. I wouldn't be leaving."

"But sir," the adjutant called out in alarm. "If this keeps up, the ship would be destroyed."

"I know that."

The adjutant finally realized what her esteemed leader meant by that statement.

"You may leave," Hilbert said. "As for me, I will stay here and face my destruction."

"But who will lead us?"

"When Gilbert proposed Destiny's Plan, he foresaw the future where everyone is important," Hilbert stopped as he turned toward her, "but yet no one is not expendable for the good of everyone else. And that also include the leaders themselves. I have failed in our sacred mission so would have to face the consequence of my ineptitude."

"But…"

"Go now," he turned toward everyone else who was still alive inside the room. "and bring everyone else out. That would be my final order."

The adjutant nodded before issuing the order for the place to be evacuated.

Hilbert turned back to his musing, this time focusing on the image of the planet Earth. Even despite his best efforts, the world still rejected the true peace and thus setting up itself for more and more conflicts in the future. How long UNITY would be able to handle them before they finally get out of hand?

Two months? Two years? Or maybe a little bit longer, say twenty years?

Because of what UNITY did, the world would continue be an ugly place to be despite its beautifully deceptive white and blue appearance when looked from space. If that the case, then he didn't want to be in such a world; the world that was oppressed by hypocrisy, a hypocrisy that would be perpetuated by its leaders who failed to learned from the lesson of the past.

Yes, he thought to himself, he didn't belong in that world.

A shot landed nearby, causing a large explosion that engulfed everything in its path, including him.

With his death, so did the dream of eternal peace in Earthsphere.

* * *

"Why can't you understand that what you're going to do will cause countless deaths?" Shinn shouted as both mobile suits continued to fight. "The war is almost ending, and UNITY will win; humanity will win! Yet you still want to carry out your plan."

"You're beginning to sound like a broken record."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, it's a private joke between Cherubim crew members."

'_She could even remember even that?' _Shinn thought to himself as he recalled the dossier Lacus provided on Cherubim. "You do remember part of your memory. If you stop this, we'll be able to help you get your memory back!"

"Unfortunately, I already remember everything." Dammerungsfee retreated a bit. "It's been interesting fighting you but I'm afraid that I don't have the time to waste anymore. The war is ending and UNITY is going to win."

'_What the hell… Did I miss something?'_

"Good bye, Shinn. I don't expect your forgiveness." Fllay said as she attacked.

'_Damn. It's that red eyes again!' _he thought. _'Looks like she's finally going all out even though I was giving it all in the first place.'_ He chuckled as he began preparing his final stand. "Sorry, Cagalli. Looks like your brother's girlfriend is too powerful for me to return home safely."

'_Itte rasshai.'_ Her voiced was like a surge of electricity in his soul. The world suddenly becoming slow as her image played in his mind again and again. _'Itte rasshai.'_

Skyblade crossed its beam sabers in front of its cockpit like a giant scissors. When the tip of Dammerungsfee's anti-ship sword passed through them, he raised both sabers, effectively redirecting the thrust of the attack.

"I must return… I can't die here," Shinn muttered to himself. "Cagalli would be waiting for me, therefore I must not die here… even it kills me, I must return to her…" He closed his eyes as he began to feel his senses being overloaded with heightened awareness and with it, excruciating pain. But the pain is nothing to what he must do. He opened his eyes, revealing the similar shiny crimson orbs in them. "I MUST RETURN!"

Skyblade pushed Dammerungsfee away with a kick and then chased after it.

"You can achieve it as well," Fllay remarked, her eyes narrowing, as her mobile suit clashed with Shinn's again and again. "But I can see that you're suffering from its activation even in the very beginning, unlike Kira."

"So what?" Shinn spat. "It's fine to feel the pain, as long as I don't cause the people I loved pain for breaking my promise. It's fine, because I'm going to return to her."

The statement caused Fllay to gasp a little and the ruby shine in her eyes faded a bit. That caused her to be few milliseconds slower to respond to the attack. "Damn you!"

Both of them clashed again and again.

Shinn, being transfixed in defeating his opponent didn't notice that he was keeping up with her despite the technological advantage Dammerungsfee had; his awakened abilities were making up for it. To him all that mattered was fulfilling his promise to return to ORB.

"I'll never let you to be the one to stop me," Fllay hissed as her mobile suit prepared for the final attack, activating its high energy output mode.

"Yeah?! We'll have to find out the hard way, because I'm not going to let _you _stop me as well," Shinn said as his hand were ready to activate both Skyblade and its WARHAWK extension's afterburner mode.

Both shared a look and understood; it would have to be settled there and then.

* * *

Kira turned toward the beautiful flash of light in the distance and felt as if a big chunk of his soul had been tore out. "FLLAY!" he screamed as he finally remembered everything, including the part where ELEANA was sealing his memory while apologizing and telling him that as long he didn't remember Fllay, he wouldn't fall into the trap.

But what trap?

Meanwhile, his remaining enemy decided to take advantage of him being distracted and tried to stab him from the rear.

All of Kira's enemies had been vanquished when Guardian was about to set out toward the coordinate if not for an emergency transmission from Dearka requesting some assistance in protecting the GUNTRUPs' retrieval.

* * *

Shinn coughed as he regained consciousness, and pain rippled throughout his body. Lethargically, he opened his eyes to see a wire jutting out of a spot to his left. '_Great',_ he thought, '_Erica would be so pissed about this…' _

He slowly turned his head to the front. Even though the main display screen had been cracked, he could see images on one of the bigger parts. Dammerungsfee's body was right in front of his mobile suit or whatever remained of it. He wasn't sure who really won and but one thing for sure he had stopped her at the expense of his promise to return home safely.

Yet, he didn't regret it. He remembered Athrun's words that the person with the power would be the one who will cause misery to other people and he was inclined to agree. But at the very least, he had overcome his old biases and finally let go of his desire for revenge, all for the sake of protecting one person. He had failed his family and even Stellar but at that time, he had protected _her. _That was enough.

He coughed again and this time mixed with the pain throughout his body was the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

'_Shinn?'_ a ethereally female voice called out to him. He had heard that voice somewhere before but he was sure that the voice didn't belong to Cagalli. But his rational thought was slowly being eroded by the sensation-dulling pain he was feeling and fleeting invitation to eternal unconsciousness calling out for him.

'_Shinn, don't fall asleep,' _the voice warned.

However, he was already past his endurance. "Cagalli… I'm sorry."

Shinn closed his eyes.

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note (2 January 2010)**

1. Happy New Year. I've finally finished Soaring Above and all I need now is write an epilogue for both Fallen Angel and Soaring Above. FA's will explain what happened to Fllay and SA will explain what will happen to Shinn. I'm still wondering whether I'm going to write a short piece tentatively titled "Knowing You." but maybe later. I have an examination tomorrow and don't have the time to really think about it.


	22. The melody of seasons

"Oniichan!"

Shinn barely heard the voice due to the intense headache he had.

"Oniichan!"

The young man opened his eyed to see that everything in his sight was pure white. "Where am I?" Then he felt his ear right ears being pulled. "Ouch!"

"I've been trying to wake you up for a long time already," a female voice chided him.

Shinn turned toward the voice and felt his blood curdled. "Mayuri?"

Mayuri frowned at him. "The games have finally damaged your brain haven't they, Oniichan? I… am… Ma… yu… ri… Oniichan's sis… ter…," she said very slowly.

Putting a hand on his face, Shinn took a deep breath. He must be dreaming and Mayuri was just a figment of his imagination.

Then the figment of his imagination pulled his hand and peered at him. "Look here, Oniichan. I've been waiting for you to wake up for quite some time and I'm not going to waste another minute until you get you lazy butt up.

"Look, Mayuri," he said while getting up. "I'm happy to see you but…"

"I'm supposed to be dead?" Mayuri interrupted him.

Shinn swallowed hard and nodded.

"You're very silly, you know that?" the girl giggled.

"You mean… you're alive?"

"No. I am dead," she said with mirth in her voice.

Shinn cast a downcast look. "Sorry. I thought that maybe…" he let out a disappointed breath, "This is a dream, after all."

"A dream? Oniichan is pretty slow after all. This is um… how do I say this… the part where the character chose whether he wants to replay the current level or move on to the next level, just like in the games."

"Huh?"

"Wrong description?" Mayuri put a finger under her chin. "Ah? I know. It's like that perverted game Oniichan used to play where the player has to choose which girl's ending he would to see. So, right now it's the same."

The realization that his sister had already dead was supposed to leave a rather somber mood but Shinn couldn't help but look at her with an incredulous look. "You know about that?"

"Well, there's the Autumn Drop, Link, Fate Stay Day, Hihime and even that gothic theme Babel White…"

"Stop, stop. I'm convinced that you know," he said while waving his hands. The young man grimaced. "I'm rather disturbed that you know."

"My friends said that young men always hide something weird under the bed."

Shinn wished that it was just a dream. "So, why are you here again?" he said in an attempt to steer the conversation to something else less embarrassing.

"I'm here to guide you."

"And all of us are here to welcome you," a man's voice said.

The young man turned toward the voice that he remembered very well. "Dad?! Mum?!" he said as his eyes taking in the visages of the newcomers.

"Stellar too," a nostalgic female voice called out to him.

"Stellar?"

She smiled. "Thank you for believing what Stellar said to Shinn that day and thank you for helping her."

Shinn father offered his hand and pulled the young man to his feet. "Come, let's go, Shinn."

"Go where?"

In response, his mother showed at something shinning in the distance. "There, where we'll be together forever," she said as she and the others began to walk toward it.

Shinn was about to take a step but stopped when the meaning of her words sunk it.

"Oniichan?"

"Mayuri," he began slowly, "does that mean…"

She nodded. "But you wouldn't be hurt again."

Shinn balled his hands so hard that it hurt; he had the chance to be reunited with his family but he had to turn it down. "I'm sorry but I can't."

"Stellar didn't understand. Stellar thought Shinn wants to be with everyone."

"Yes, but she… Cagalli is probably, no, Cagalli is waiting for me back in ORB."

"But if Shinn says, Shinn would be hurt again," Stellar said solemnly. "Just like the hurt Stellar caused Shinn when Stellar died."

"I was hurt when you died," he began before turning toward his family, "and I'm also hurt when the war took the three of you from me. Like Stellar said, there's no guarantee that I wouldn't be hurt again in the future."

"Then, why don't you join us?" his mother asked.

"Because I promised Cagalli that I would return _home._ One thing that I learned from these two wars is that enough tears have been shed and enough grieves have been caused." He closed his eyes, remembering his cherished person's face, "It is because it hurts when all of you left me that I don't want to be the one that will cause Cagalli to cry." He hung his head and stared at his feet in regret. "I'm sorry, but even though I'm happy to see all of you here to welcome me, I can't join you. Not yet."

He felt a hand on his cheek and raised his head to see his mom in front of him, smiling. Beside her were his father, Mayuri and Stellar, also smiling at him.

"Then return to her, Shinn," his mother said as she stroke his cheek fondly. "Return to your new _home._"

He felt his eyes sting from unshed tears. "I'm sorry, mum."

His father shook his head. "There's nothing to be sorry about. We're proud of the choice you made,"

"Stellar happy too," the always exuberant girl quipped.

"Just remember to name your first daughter Mayuri, after her beautiful aunt," Mayuri added. "And find a new hiding place for your perverted magazine collection so that your girlfriend wouldn't find out."

"Mayuri!" Shinn said, flabbergasted.

Shinn's father cleared his throat. "Well, I can't say anything since you fail to find a decent place to…"

"Dear…" his mother said with steely voice while slowly turning toward her husband.

"Reading perverted materials is bad for you," Shinn's father quickly amended.

"Somehow this seems like a dream that went wrong." Shinn muttered at the scene.

"It is a dream, for you. A dream where you just need to wake up," his mother said.

"Mom…"

"It's okay. Go now, as she's waiting for you,"

"And remember son, we're always proud of you," his father said as Shinn's vision was beginning to be overwhelmed by a bright light.

"We'll be watching you," Mayuri said as her form and everyone else were completely engulfed by the bright light.

"Be happy," Stellar said.

And the world became so bright and then there was darkness.

* * *

A croak escaped from his parched throat as Shinn once again opened his eyes, this time with the revolting scent of antiseptic assailing his senses. As his vision focused, he saw shocked expression on Cagalli's face.

"You're awake!" she uttered before she burried her face on his chest.

Shinn was about to say something when he felt his chest becoming damp with moisture and heard quiet sobs coming from her. He touched her head in placating manner. "Of course I'm awake. I promised you that I'll come back to you, remember?"

"Yes, but I didn't expect you would return the way you did."

He reminded himself to ask about what she meant later as that time he had a more important thing to do. "Cagalli," he said lovingly. "Look at me."

Slowly, she raised her eyes to reveal that they were puffy and tear-rimed.

He noticed that she had eye bags, a result of lack of sleep that marred her beauty but it didn't matter to him. He put his hands around her lithe body, pulled her toward him.

Cagalli was shocked when he kissed her but then settled down and reciprocated it.

When they broke the kiss for breath, he smiled at her. "Tadaima."

He barely caught the happy expression on her face before she leaned to kiss him.

* * *

Shinn looked at wheelchair where he was sitting on with disdain. "_Lady _Clyne, wouldn't it be too much to use your influence so that I don't have to go to the garden on this?"

The said person shook her head as she went behind the wheelchair to push it. "Sorry. Lacus is still in PLANTs, remember?"

"That's probably Meer, your sit-in," he scoffed. "And even if you couldn't use your influence, you could at least ask Cagalli to talk to the doctor?

"Cagalli is the one who recommended this."

"You're pulling my leg. She's not the person that likes to be pampered."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean the person that she cares about wouldn't be pampered as well. Why do you think I'm the one here instead of the nurse? Actually she wanted to be the one to do this when you woke up but then she got called away for a something urgent."

"I can't believe this." He sighed. "Very well, push away."

Their trip from his ward to the hospital's garden was in silence. Once Lacus had stopped at a spot at the garden, he decided to ask the question that had wanted to know. "Look, I know that I was in a coma for two weeks but the way Cagalli acted when I woke up it was as if, you know…"

"Your diagnosis at that time was very bad that the doctors couldn't even predict what will happen," Lacus replied as she sat on the bench next to his wheelchair.

He watched a nurse pushing a young girl with her eyes bandaged past him. The girl probably had an operation in regards to her eyes, he thought to himself. "That bad."

"Even though ORB managed to recover Skyblade, it had to be written off due to the extensive damage it suffered. The last I heard Erica is searching for a witch doctor to get a voodoo doll."

Shinn chuckled nervously.

"You managed to use both SEED and APEX, didn't you?" Lacus asked suddenly.

"Yeah but the Dammerungsfee pilot, right, Fllay told me that the activation wasn't as perfect as Kira's." He then described the fight to Lacus.

When he finished, Lacus said, "You're quite amazing to last that long in that state."

"Amazing? She lasted longer than me in that state!"

"Because she's female. Don't get me wrong but ability-wise, male user would always exceed a female user but due to female's extended high pain tolerance, she be in the state longer. And from what you said, her ability suffered in the final fight. I know why. It's because she was beginning to lose the will to fight whereas it was your determination that allowed you to tolerate the pain. Of course that…" Lacus stopped to gesture toward him.

He understood. He had severely overtaxed his body. "Did she…"

Lacus smiled. "No, she's alive, thanks to you. In fact, her mobile suit emerged in a better shape."

"No wonder Erica is getting the doll."

"But when I9 recovered the mobile suit, she was unconscious but still breathing. She's currently undergoing treatment at its reminds me, I have to apologize to you. I didn't find out about her real plan."

"Fllay planned to get killed by Kira," Shinn said calmly.

She gasped. "You knew?"

"You wouldn't believe how I found out but the biggest revenge she's been talking is the one she's going to exact on herself."

"I… I don't understand?!"

"Simple, really. For someone in love, the biggest betrayal that could happen is the betrayal by the person he or she loves. By tricking Kira to kill her, she would effectively cause him to betray her."

"That's absurd! Why would she do something like that?"

Shinn caught a soccer ball that was kicked by a group of children playing nearby and threw it back at them. They thanked him before resuming their play. "I was told about it but not the reason why. That's the real reason why I changed my mind and decided to agree to your request at that time. I couldn't let her do it as it would not only be cruel to her but to him. As for her reason doing it, the only person that can find out from her is _him_."

"I see. Now I'm beginning to understand everything." She shook her head. "She once told me that to be in love is to be in madness and only now I truly understand the extent of her feelings."

"You love him as well, don't you?"

"Yes, but he loved her." She was silent for a moment. "Enough of that, how about your plan, Shinn? What would you do?"

He spied Cagalli walking toward them; her work was probably finished.

"To live in the present, not in the past, I guess."

* * *

Two years have passed since the end of the secret war, Shinn mused as he walked toward the monument to deliver a fresh arrangement to it. Even though UNITY is still facing attacks from the severely weakened The Destineds and some opposition from few countries and PLANTs sectors, the government was making a good progress in uniting Earthsphere. He looked at the arrangement in his hands and noticed that the message that he used had certainly changed since then. Rather than being somber then, the messages were becoming more and more cheerful. He smiled and turned to look at the sky. The sun would be up in another ten minutes. Good. He was afraid that he would be late that day.

Unexpectedly a man was already at the monument, gazing at it in a silent prayer. Shinn calmly closed the distance between the two of them.

"Have anyone told you that you're very sneaky person for coming to ORB when you found out that your sister is in PLANTs right now?"

Kira turned toward him. "Asuka-san," he greeted making sure to use Shinn's family name; Shinn had told him the last time the two had met that he wouldn't appreciate Kira using his first name. To a Japanese, calling another person by the given name was a privilege given to close friends and family and Shinn had made it clear the last time that he didn't want to be considered as Kira's friend. At the very least, he would respect the other person's wish.

"Domo," Shinn greeted casually in Japanese as he walked to put the arrangement at the monument and removing the old one. He then stood up and offered a short prayer to it.

"You know that I am alive."

"If you remember, I fought against Fllayand won," Shinn pursed his lips at the wrong choice of words, "er… manage to get a draw. You don't think that I wouldn't know that you're alive?" He already knew from the very beginning that Kira was alive thanks to the information from Lacus as well as Cagalli. Shrugging, he continued, "If you want, we can redo the whole thing and this time I'll run around like a chicken that lost its head."

"Er, it's okay."

Shinn shook his head, thinking about people who called him as being too serious.

The two of them were quiet, not knowing what to say to each other. The last time that they had met, they weren't on the friendliest term.

"Shinn, about what happened in the first war…"

Shinn held up a hand to stop Kira from talking further. "Let's get this thing right." He gave a long neutral gaze at Kira. "When I lost my family in the war, I was… devastated."

"That is why I want to…"

"In my despair, I looked at the sky and saw Freedom fighting with another mobile suit," Shinn interrupted the other man's words.

"I know and I…"

"Please be quiet. You're not making it any easier for me!" Shinn snapped.

"Sorry."

"It was then I decided to take revenge on both mobile suits for what you did. Later, I found out that the other mobile suit was destroyed at the end of the war. Only Freedom were left. I moved to PLANTs and enrolled in its military force and even through the training, I had only one constant though which is to get revenge. Then the second war happened and I kind of forgot about you, until Archangel and that delta-winged ship interfered in the battle with ORB."

"Meeting Freedom rekindled that hatred but I had to protect Minerva so I can't just attack you out of spite. Besides, there's that other stolen prototype, Fallen which ZAFT headquarters was wary about even though it had helped us quite a number of time. I was quite happy to just ignore the whole revenge thing until you killed Stellar in Berlin. You killed her even though Fallen was about to disable to mammoth mobile suit. It was then I know that I can't let you be because you will kill everyone that I care about."

"With Athrun's help I defeated Freedom, defeated you. I got my revenge but at that time I didn't realize it. I won against you and you would have been dead if not for that crazy Murasame came and saved Freedom's main body. As a result of that win, something happened after the war. I felt empty." Shinn reconsidered his words. "Actually it was even before that but I didn't realize it. I got my revenge and then, well, that's it. It sucks more than finishing an engrossing FPS game."

He paused to see a confused look on Kira and rolled his eyes.

"Never mind. The more important part is in the end, the revenge was pointless." It was what Murdoch told him but Shinn wasn't going to rehash exact words. Murdoch once said that revenge is like masturbating because you did it, it would feel really good but eventually you would realize that you're just screwing yourself.

"And even now I'm never sure that in the first war it was you or the other one that killed my family and as for Stellar, looking back, I would have done the same thing had I'm in your position. In fact I really marvel at how you're able to maintain your sanity with what you had to do. And that is why…"

Shinn performed a bow and remained in his position, not saying anything.

However, a Japanese like Kira understood what Shinn begged of him even without saying anything. There was no real need for Shinn to shout his apology because the action by itself was already deafeningly clear. Kira had to give an answer because as long as he didn't, Shinn would remain in his position. So he bowed as well, knowing very well that the other would not let him remain in his position just as he wouldn't let Shinn continue. Both of them straightened up at the same time and he offered his hand in earnest while smiling.

Shinn took his hand gratefully and shook it. "Kore kara, yoroshiku."

_I leave myself in your care and therefore please guide me._

"Me too."

It would have been very awkward for the two to hug so Kira settled for giving Shinn's hand another shake before breaking it off. "I'll see you around, Asuka."

"Shinn," The man insisted.

Kira smiled again. "See you around, Shinn," he said. He took a step before remembering something. "Oh, can you please not tell Cagalli and Kisaka that I'm still alive?"

"I promise," the man said as he rearranged a stray flower on the arrangement.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. By the way, please take care of her"

"You know I will," Kira said before continuing to walk away.

A smirk appeared on Shinn's face. While it was true that he was had realized that being an avenger amounted to nothing in life, he was still looking to the day when Kira revealed to Cagalli that he was still alive, be surprised that she already knew and then got his ass handed to him. It would be an enjoyable sight since his girlfriend had been complaining about Kira 'being dead' for a while without even attempting to tell her the truth. In short, it was his girlfriend's brother's fault.

_Opps_, he corrected himself as his right hand reached over to feel a small box inside his trouser's pocket, _future brother in-law's fault._

He looked at his watch. Cagalli's shuttle was due to arrive in another hour. He gazed heavenward. _'Father, mother, Mayuri, Stellar… I will honor your memory by living happily… therefore, please watch over me as always.' _

THE END

* * *

1

* * *

**Author's note**

1. With that Soaring Above is finished. Well, not exactly the ending I thought about when I started but just like the original ending, I wanted a 'soft' feel for this epilogue. It may seem that Shinn has mellowed a bit compared to his original personality in GSD and even at the beginning of the story but I would like to think that he had matured a bit throughout the story. People will mature and change as they grow up. Kira changed a bit in GSD (even in FA) so why not Shinn? But personally, I can't really stomach the Shinn in the OVA because it seemed a bit unnatural since he was raving like idiot in last few episodes and after there when he met the person who 'probably' murdered his family, he simply cried because of that man's words? Um... oh, right. Now I remember why I wrote Soaring Above in the first place. Silly me! :D

2. Now, some of you would be asking about what happened to Fllay since this epilogue only covered a little bit about her. I'm going to write another epilogue for Fallen Angel. In effect, those who read FA but don't read SA, the original epilogue can be considered canon or 'real' ending. However, for those who read FA and SA, you would notice the discrepancies between the FA's epilogue and events in SA. So the new epilogue will address that _and_ tells about Fllay's alternate or 'best' ending. But before that, I'm going to have to put some time rereading some GS fics that I missed these few months.

3. Oh, before I forgot... happy new year.


End file.
